Students will get an early start in learning how to manage money after a banking scheme was launched at a school today.

Year 9 students at Walthamstow School for Girls, in Church Hill, one of five participating across London, will open the bank once a week to anyone who wants to deposit or withdraw cash.

They will benefit from increased “financial literacy”, according to the MyBnk charity, as students are taught to run their own microfinance scheme.

Student bankers will also offer peers accounts and interest free loans of up to £40, and financiers will decide who to invest in, as well as running savings and business start-up drives.

Any profit from the scheme goes towards a charity of the school’s choosing.