Pupils should be just as familiar with how to calculate the APR (annual percentage rate) on a loan as they are with how to find the area of a triangle.

That’s the argument put forward by TV finance expert Martin Lewis, who has been campaigning for the past two years for the government to make financial education a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Mr Lewis, founder of Moneysavingexpert.com, a website for savvy savers, says children need to learn how to do the necessary calculations in their maths lessons, and then how to apply the knowledge in their PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) lessons.

He started an e-petition, called ‘Make financial education a compulsory part of the school curriculum’, which gained over 118,000 signatures, although the government is still to make any formal changes.

Many schools in Medway are already leading the way with the finance classes they have to offer students.

Chatham Grammar School for Boys offer an enrichment course for a certificate in finance which is run by the Institute of Financial Services and it is accepted by a number of universities.

Assistant Headteacher Craig Brown, said: "It has been successful because the students relate to it because they know it’s relevant to real life."

More on this story in Friday's Medway Messenger.