Edinburgh's unique financial history library to play key role in teaching money skills to Scottish pupils

The Library of Mistakes, which runs the world-famous capital library as well as courses and other charitable activities, will oversee the activities of Leavers’ Money Skills, managed by financial education specialists Leonie Griffin and Catriona Scott.

The project aims to educate Scottish school leavers in the skills associated with managing money, such as savings, budgeting, mortgages and pensions. It will visit schools throughout Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Borders with its in-person delivered workshops to school leavers. There are also plans to expand into other geographic areas in the years to come.

The programme is offered to teenagers in their final years, with a keen focus on the skills associated with managing their own finances. Like all of the library’s activities, the project is funded through charitable donations and sales from its renowned financial history courses.

Griffin said: “If you want to tackle poverty across Scotland the first place to do it is in the young people who are our future. By equipping school leavers from all backgrounds with the confidence and knowledge in how to manage their money we can make sure they’re less likely to fall into debt traps and more likely to use financial products wisely and invest successfully for the future, whether that’s buying a house or saving for education, or even saving early for retirement.”

The library already delivers courses in financial history to industry professionals while it is home to the Future Asset charity that encourages schoolgirls into careers in financial markets. The Didasko charity grouping behind the library is particularly interested in the school leavers project’s ability to work with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and to give them the confidence to handle their financial affairs confidently.

Didasko chief executive David Clarke said: “Scotland has a proud tradition of leading the world in financial education as the Library of Mistakes has exemplified at the highest level. But we’re also very much focused on ensuring society at large has the knowledge it needs in dealing with financial services.”

From financial crisis to Edinburgh trams - inside the tiny New Town library devoted to mistakes