Huntingtower School in Victoria is dedicated to nurturing future leaders by instilling a robust set of values and capabilities through their Project-Based Learning (PBL) subject.
This commitment is enhanced by integrating Banqer High, which aligns seamlessly with the school's educational objectives. By incorporating Banqer, Huntingtower has enriched their curriculum with dynamic real-world applications, sustainability considerations, and opportunities for community engagement, all within a simulated environment.
Transforming financial education and empowering students with Banqer
Before Banqer’s introduction, students at Huntingtower were limited to using Excel spreadsheets to create basic budgets for their projects. While this approach provided a foundational understanding of financial management, it lacked engagement and real-world context.
Recognising this gap, Huntingtower introduced Banqer into their Year 8 curriculum, enhancing their PBL subject. This change has been instrumental in fostering student agency, allowing learners to see firsthand how they can effect positive change in the world, strengthening their understanding of self and empowerment.
The team found Banqer High very easy to set up and integrate into their programme, and Banqer’s resources served as the starting and finishing points for class notes and teacher programmes. Banqer’s flexible nature allowed them to adjust or expand the material to fit unique school programs. Head of STEM, Greg Hellard shares:
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.
Banqer has transformed the way Huntingtower students perceive and interact with financial concepts. With its blend of simulations, interactive content, and real-world scenarios, Banqer has captured students' attention and empowered them with autonomy and independence.
Claudia Ohlert, Year 8 Coordinator, notes the platform's profound impact: “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 different decisions and the financial implications of these decisions that they might come across in their adult life.”
Thanks to the Careers expansion, Greg saw a spike in student engagement, where students can explore potential career paths, understand their choices' financial implications, and link their classroom lessons to the real world.
The overwhelmingly positive feedback from students and parents reaffirms Banqer's role as an essential component of Huntingtower's educational strategy. As the school prepares to introduce Banqer Primary to younger students, the foundation for comprehensive financial literacy begins to solidify across the entire educational journey.
