MONEY management is being taught to school pupils by a Basingstoke housing association.

Sovereign Housing Association is running Money Matters courses for Year 10 and 11 pupils at Aldworth School, in South Ham, and Fort Hill Community School, in Winklebury.

The course, delivered by the Basingstoke Consortium, teaches the teenagers how to spend their money responsibly and is set to run until the end of the year, with the hope of being adopted permanently.

Pupils are being taught a range of skills, including how to read their bank statements, how direct debits and contracts work and told of the long term effects of not paying a bill.

They were also asked to keep a spending diary for a week, which opened their eyes to where their money was going and event caused one pupil to stop spending money on fizzy drinks and save it instead.

Heidi Leyshon, resident development manager at Sovereign, said: “Being a part of the Money Matters course gives the pupils a better understanding of how to manage money effectively, make smart decisions and how they can prepare themselves financially.

“So far the course has been a success and we hope to see more ‘money smart’ school-leavers.”