Sid the shark shares loan warnings at Shrewsbury school

Pupils at Wilfred Owen Primary School in Shrewsbury took a dislike to the giant loan shark and chased him out of the building.

The activity was all part of the school’s launch of its ‘Grow a Pound’ initiative featuring Just Credit Union, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin’s not-for-profit savings and loans co-operative.

Just Credit Union led morning assemblies and talked about the importance of savings and the dangers of borrowing from the wrong people.

Pupils enjoyed an educational animation about a penguin who borrows money from the wrong people.

Steve Barras, Just Credit Union Development Officer, said: “Financial education is an important part of Just Credit Union’s purpose, and it is fantastic to have the opportunity to encourage children to understand money and develop great habits at a young age.

“We are delighted to assist with the Grow a Pound initiative. This particular initiative was a huge success last time with the pupils coming up with lots of great money- making ideas and raising lots of money for the school.

“We are looking forward to coming back to see how they are getting on and to hand out some trophies at the celebration assembly.”

Hannah Fox, teacher and mathematics lead at Wilfred Owen, added: “We were delighted to have Just Credit Union involved. They have given the school a pot of money so that each child can have a pound.

“The challenge then is to grow that pound over the coming weeks. This will not only help the children understand the value of money, but also to develop some key life skills for their futures.

“When we ran a similar project two years ago the pupils had lots of fantastic ideas and raised lots of money for the school. This year the money raised will be used to fund a Harry Potter event for the whole school which everyone is very excited about.”

Steve added: “We would like to say a big thank you to the Stop Loan Sharks campaign run by the England Illegal Money Lending Team who use money confiscated from illegal lenders to help promote credit unions and support financial education in school.”