The Bank of England Museum

The Bank of England Museum’s education programme is designed to support aspects of teaching in several curriculum areas for key stages 2 and above. It includes highly interactive cinema presentations, giving students the opportunity to ask questions and keeping them engaged and interested throughout. The presentations aim to improve pupils’ awareness of money and give them a better appreciation of their own spending and saving decisions.

Presentations for younger children cover the history, function and value of money and concepts such as banking, changing prices and interest rates. Presentations for older students help them understand how everyone’s earning, spending, saving and work fit together to form the economy and how our individual activities help to shape the way the economy functions.

For secondary school students studying economics and business studies, the Museum offers a presentation on the role and functions of the Bank of England as the central bank of the United Kingdom. It consists of a twenty-minute film followed by a question and answer session in which the topics covered in the film can be explored in greater detail.The question and answer session can be tailored to meet the requirements of the group.

Presentations are available to groups of between 15 and 50 students and are free of charge but their popularity means that they must be booked in advance (email education@bankofengland.co.uk).

After the presentations, students can enjoy a fascinating visit to the Museum which includes audio-visuals and interactive displays. One of the most popular exhibits allows visitors to take control of a virtual hot air balloon to learn about settinginterest rates. Other displays that never fail to amaze pupils of all ages are the one million pound note and the genuine gold bar that can be handled and lifted, although its 13 kg of weight will catch a few people by surprise. Activity sheets are available for all age groups.

The Bank of England also offers two free resources for schools which are based on the materials used in the Museum’s presentations.

For 9−11 year-olds, Pounds & Pence covers the history, function and value of money and concepts such as banking, changing prices and interest rates. The aim is to improve pupils’ awareness of money and prices in every day life and give them a better appreciation of their own spending and saving decisions.

For 14–16 year-olds, Made of Money describes what the economy is, how it works, how it stays on track, and its everyday relevance to teenagers. Both resources comprise printed information and activity cards, a DVD / video and teachers’ notes. They cover the topics in an engaging and accessible style using examples and illustrations from daily life so that young people can easily relate the ideas to their own experiences. For more information or to download our activity sheets and Teaching Resources, please visit the website at

www.bankofengland.co.uk/education.

Key information