Raewyn Cole is the Teacher in Charge of Commerce at Avonside Girls’ High School in Christchurch. Raewyn has been using Banqer for several years, first trialling it back in 2019 with her Year 10 Economics group before the school decided to make it accessible to a larger cohort of students
A survey asking all Year 9 and 10 students to identify their learning priorities highlighted a demand for a financial literacy course, so we created an elective available to all Year 10 students built around Banqer High.
The course, which became known as ‘Money, Money, Money’, runs for two terms. The students work through the expansions, choosing a job, managing their money, and focusing on creating wealth,
Extra resources support teachers in supporting students
The accompanying resources that Banqer High have developed mean that we can really delve into each topic without any extra workload for myself. We go off on tangents, with Banqer High providing the real-world environment to peg the discussions on.
Raewyn has used the additional resources to scaffold students who need extra support, “The short punchy videos really help. They are only a minute and a half long, which suits my girls’ attention spans! And the quizzes are great as the students can think about a question again and correct their answers which really supports their learning.”
Student engagement has been very high, “I have girls who are logging in out of class time, discussions raging about who they are going to flat with and what their houses will look like. One very capable and confident student was devastated when she went blind for a week and had no medical insurance or income protection. It was such a good lesson for her on the impact of financial decisions.”
Ease and value both evident in Banqer High
The rollout has been straightforward, with three teachers using it for three periods a week with almost two hundred students,
It is easy to use, and teachers being able to log in as a student means that you can provide demonstrations for the students and fellow teachers. My colleagues were up and running in no time.
“I have tried other platforms, and they are not as kid-friendly. And my own paper-based activities based around creating portfolios and tracking them on the stock exchange or handing out class currency just seem cumbersome in comparison. Banqer High’s simulation of life’s linear journey creates valuable learning opportunities that we can build on. Banqer High teaches them everything that they need to know about the consequences of financial decision-making.” Exactly what the students wanted from a Financial Literacy course.
Explore Banqer High for your school
If you’re interested in seeing how Banqer High can support your student's learning outcomes, our team can take you through a short demo.