Students in academy schools need lessons in managing their money, says Yorkshire Building Society.
It’s urging the 82 academies in Huddersfield to pledge to teach financial education.
The subject appears on the national curriculum - which academies don’t have to follow.
The Bradford-based society, which has its roots in Huddersfield, has written to all 5,000 academy schools in England to seek their commitment at the same time as launching Money Minds, a free financial education programme to help children aged five to 19 learn more about managing money.
Andy Caton, chief corporate affairs officer, said: “If academy schools do not deliver financial education then much of the great progress made in recent years to establish its importance within the curriculum will be lost.
“Pupils in academies that opt to not teach financial education are at danger of being left behind compared to those who are learning about managing money.
“At the moment we just don’t know how many children in academy schools will receive financial education which is why we have taken the step to ask them all to pledge their commitment to it.”
Money Minds comprises a series of activities and projects on topics ranging from keeping money safe for ages five to seven, planning a party to learn budgeting skills for children aged eight to 11, up to calculating interest and responsibilities to repay loans for older children.
They are delivered by Yorkshire Building Society colleagues.
