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Huntingtower School in Victoria is committed to growing future leaders. One of the ways it does this is with its Year 8 Project-Based Learning subject, which instils solid values and capabilities for future success.
In the subject, students had to create basic budgets but needed help due to low financial literacy. The school didn’t explicitly teach this, so head of STEM Greg Hellard identified an opportunity to fill this gap. He chose Banqer to support this as the platform brought real-world concepts to life.
Mr Hellard says, “It’s very difficult to find relevant things that engage our students. Banqer did that.”
Before Banqer, students used Excel for basic budgets. Now, they engage with a digital platform that supports key class concepts. Teachers appreciate how Banqer fosters student agency. Through simulated events, students understand how decisions can create positive change, fostering self-understanding and empowerment.
Implementation
The team found Banqer High easy to set up and integrate into the Year 8 curriculum. Planning resources showing how Banqer maps to the Australian or State curricula helped Huntingtower quickly see how Banqer supported its curriculum without adding additional pressure.
Mr Hellard notes that Banqer’s teaching resources were excellent, serving as starting and finishing points for class notes and teacher programs. Banqer’s flexibility allowed them to adjust or expand material to fit unique school programs.
Mr Hellard says, “The material supplied by Banqer is really succinct, even for someone who is not financially trained, such as myself. It’s really easy to follow.”
The result
The team saw numerous benefits for their students. Claudia Ohlert, Year 8 coordinator, noted a significant increase in students’ interest in finance.
“One of the biggest positive outcomes from Banqer was the ability for students to set their own financial goals for the future and start to think about different career pathways or decisions and the financial implications of these decisions that they might come across in their adult life," she said.
Mr Hellard saw increased student engagement due to the Careers expansion. Students linked classroom lessons to the real world by focusing on a chosen career within Banqer.
“It has been a massively engaging tool within our Year 8 curriculum. The feedback from students and parents has been overwhelmingly positive. We’re introducing Banqer Primary to our primary school students next year,” Mr Hellard said.
Banqer High has added value to Huntingtower and its students by providing a practical, applied financial program that is relevant and engaging. The program covers budgeting, investing, careers, superannuation, renting, and home ownership. The team found students developed greater independence and autonomy thanks to Banqer’s structured learning progression.
Some of the topics students explored in Banqer High.
The Huntingtower team found that students developed greater independence and autonomy thanks to Banqer’s structured learning progression.
“It teaches you a lot about saving money but not in a boring way. Overall, it's fun, and you learn a lot from it,” one year eight student said.
What is Banqer?
Banqer is a financial education platform for schools. In our simulated economy, students experience the financial world safely before leaving school. Underpinning this is our host of curriculum-aligned teaching and learning resources to help educators deliver highly engaging, authentic, real-world lessons.
Want to see it in action?
If you’re short on time, view a two-minute demo. Or, if you have 10 minutes to discover if Banqer will work for you, chat with James, one of our humans.
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