Choosing the Right School
Learning Sequence
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Introduction with Gavin
Watch Gavin’s introduction, then ask pupils to identify the Martins’ three options and the decision they need to make. Explain that calculations should use the task-card figures, which may differ from examples in the video.
Invite groups to discuss possible costs, benefits and questions before calculating. Ask: “What would change for each family member?” and “What do we still need to know?” Treat the video’s school comparisons as ideas to investigate, rather than facts about every school.
Observe curiosity, empathy, listening and confidence in contributing. Offer quieter pupils time to rehearse with a partner. Keep discussion focused on the fictional family, without asking pupils to disclose their own household finances.
This week in Financial Fundamentals, you will act as the parents in the Martin family. Their child has finished preschool and is about to start primary school. Help them compare private school, public school and home education.
The video describes a private-school option costing up to $40,000 a year. Public school may have few or no tuition fees, but other costs still matter. Home education needs time, resources and planning. In this scenario, one parent would stop working, so the family would earn less.
Work with your group to read the task-card data, calculate the costs and compare what each choice could mean for family life. Use the figures supplied. If information is missing, record a question instead of guessing.
Your recommendation should consider learning, friendships, safety, belonging and the wellbeing of the child and parents. A high fee does not guarantee a better education. Explain which option best suits this family and why.
Mathematician of the Week
Read the Archimedes card together and give pupils time to consider its meaning. Invite them to share an everyday example of mathematics with a partner, then connect their ideas to the Martins’ decision.
Ask: “How does maths help here?” and “What can the numbers tell us, and what else must we consider?” Accept drawings, spoken explanations or brief notes.
Observe curiosity, confidence and respectful listening. Notice who builds on another person’s idea or makes a new connection. Encourage different interpretations supported by reasons.
Explore the Archimedes resource opposite. Read the words on the card and discuss what they mean to you. How can mathematics help people solve everyday problems?
Share an example with a partner. You might think about planning a journey, sharing food or comparing school costs. Listen to your partner’s idea and explain how it connects to yours.
Reflection: Where can you see mathematics in the Martins’ decision?
Weekly Keywords
Introduce the keywords using the Martins’ situation, then invite pupils to work with a partner on the task card. Ask them to explain each word through a sentence, drawing or spoken example.
Check understanding by asking: “How is income different from expenses?” and “What might the family give up by choosing home education?” Encourage pupils to refine their explanations after discussion.
Observe confidence, independence, careful listening and how partners support each other. Allow thinking time and prompt pupils to find meaning rather than copy definitions. Revisit the words as they calculate and compare the family’s options.
Explore these words: income, expenses, budget, fees, resources, wellbeing and opportunity cost. They will help you explain the Martins’ choices.
With a partner, explain each word in your own words. Opportunity cost means what you give up when you choose something else. For the Martins, home education could mean giving up one parent’s earnings.
Use the task card or your notebook. Add a sentence or drawing linked to the family. Check any unfamiliar words and improve your explanation after talking with your partner.
The Situation - Choosing a Primary School
Introduce the task card and explain that students will act as advisers to the Martins as they choose a primary-school option for their child. Read the family’s story together, clarify unfamiliar vocabulary and check that students understand the table. Explain that the figures and features describe this fictional scenario, rather than every school.
Ask students to work in small groups and organise their notes under three headings: private school, public school and home education. For each option, identify the costs, benefits and challenges. Encourage them to connect the financial information with its effects on family life. Ask: “What might the family gain or give up?” and “How could this choice affect the child and each parent?”
Have groups record what they know and what information is missing. For example, which parent would teach at home, how would this affect their earnings, and how could the child regularly meet other children? Students should identify these gaps before making a recommendation.
As groups work, observe both their understanding and how they participate. Look for accurate reading of the figures, explanations supported by evidence, thoughtful questions, shared responsibility and respectful disagreement.
Notice whether students consider belonging, friendships, independence and family wellbeing alongside affordability. Offer prompts when needed, while allowing students to develop their own reasoning.
Finish by inviting each group to share one finding and one unanswered question. Use these to prepare the class for the calculation and decision-making activities that follow.
The Martins need to choose how their child will learn after preschool. Read the task card and make notes under three headings: private school, public school and home education.
For each option, record the costs, possible benefits and challenges. Consider teaching, friendships, travel, family time and how supported the child might feel. Treat the examples as features to investigate, rather than facts about every school.
What do you know, and what would you still need to ask the family or schools? Share your questions before making a decision.
Make Up Your Mind - Rubric and Discussion
Model how to justify one score using evidence, then let pupils complete the rubric and discuss their recommendations.
Check that pupils use their financial calculations alongside the five criteria. Ask: “Does the strongest financial option meet everyone’s needs?” and “Could a high total hide an important concern?”
Observe reasoning, empathy, respectful disagreement and willingness to reconsider. Ensure quieter voices are heard. Assess how pupils support their choice and balance competing needs, rather than which option they choose.
Use your financial models and research to score each option from 1 (poor fit) to 5 (very good fit). Consider financial benefit, the child’s education, the whole family, everyone’s future, and the parents’ finances and wellbeing.
Give evidence for your scores, then add each option’s total. Discuss your thinking with a partner. The highest score is a guide, so consider any important concerns too.
Recommend an option. Explain your strongest reasons, one drawback and how the family could manage it. Record anything you still need to find out. reasonable when supported by evidence.
Finding The Facts
Model one calculation using the home-education example, then let pupils tackle the questions and blank tables independently before checking with a partner.
Observe accuracy alongside persistence, confidence, listening and shared participation. Prompt rather than provide answers: “How could you check?” and “What might this mean for the family?”
Encourage pupils to weigh financial findings against the child’s and parents’ needs. Look for empathy and changing ideas supported by evidence. A final decision is not required yet.
Use the video, scenario and data table to answer the 12 questions. Follow the home-education example to complete the private- and public-school tables.
Calculate each option’s yearly income, costs and money remaining. Show your working and check with a partner. Count lost earnings only once.
As you answer, consider which option might best suit the Martins. Think about money, learning, friendships and family wellbeing. Your ideas may change as you discover more.
Building Three Financial Models - Work it out!
Walk through the home-education example, then support pupils to research and complete the two blank worksheets. Remind them to use annual figures, check sources and count each cost once. Use consistent estimates for shared expenses unless evidence supports a difference.
Observe independence, persistence, cooperation and mathematical reasoning. Ask: “Is that a fact or an estimate?” and “What does your total mean for the family?”
Encourage pupils to consider the child’s learning, friendships and happiness alongside the parents’ finances and workload. Look for thoughtful comparisons and ideas that develop as evidence emerges.
Study the home-education example, then use the scenario and your research to complete the public- and private-school worksheets.
Find the yearly income, school fees and other costs for each option. Record where your figures came from and label any estimates. Add the costs, then subtract them from the income to find the money remaining.
Complete the positives and negatives. Compare all three models: what might each option mean for the Martins’ money, time and wellbeing? Begin thinking about which could suit their family best.
Real World Learning - Design Your Dream School
Give pupils time to reflect before designing. Explore the example together, then invite them to plan three pages using their own priorities and ideas.
Keep financial thinking visible: “Who would pay for this?” “What would you prioritise?” and “How could families with different incomes take part?” Encourage pupils to connect spending choices with educational benefits.
Observe creativity, independence, empathy and willingness to improve ideas. Notice whose needs pupils consider and how they balance freedom with responsibility. Assess their reasoning and care for others alongside the finished design
What could a great education look like? Use the reflection card to explore your ideas, then look at the example brochure and use the template to create three pages advertising your dream school.
Include your school’s name, buildings and grounds, subjects, daily routine, rules and responsibilities. Explain the roles of children, parents and teachers.
Think about fees, how the school would be funded and what you would spend money on first. Show how your school would support learning, wellbeing, families and children’s futures.
Be imaginative. Explain why your ideas matter and how they could work.
Guided Writing – A Voice for Education
Discuss the purpose and audience, then help pupils organise their letters into an introduction, proposals with reasons and a respectful closing request. Use the writing resources for support, adapting them to the letter format.
Ask: “How would we know your change was helping?” and “Whose views should be included?” Encourage pupils to consider costs, fairness and different definitions of success.
Observe confidence, empathy, independent thinking and the ability to disagree respectfully. Preserve pupils’ own opinions and offer one clear next step for improvement. If letters will be sent, review them together and agree how to share them.
Write a polite letter to your school principal or your country’s education minister. Explain what education means to you and how children, families and teachers could help shape its future.
Use ideas from your dream school to suggest two changes. Explain how they could improve learning and wellbeing, what they might cost and how they could work.
Consider how we judge success. Alongside examination results, could we value creativity, kindness, practical skills, confidence and contributions to the community?
Support your opinions with reasons or examples. Finish by inviting your reader to listen to students’ ideas and suggesting one practical first step. Check that your letter is clear, respectful and written in British English.
Weekly Inspiration – Maths Through Mountains
Pause before watching and invite predictions. Afterwards, ask pupils to explain one mathematical idea they noticed and connect it to planning, accuracy or costs.
Observe curiosity, spatial reasoning, collaboration and willingness to revise an idea. Ask: “How could the teams check their work?” Encourage explanations through sketches, discussion or models.
How could two teams digging from opposite sides of a mountain make their tunnels meet? Watch the video and look for ways maths helps solve this challenge.
What needs to be measured? What could happen if a calculation is wrong? How might mistakes affect costs, time and safety?
Discuss one example of how maths helps people turn an ambitious idea into reality.
Celebrate Your Learning – Quiz and Certificate
Invite pupils to complete the quiz independently, with support to access or understand the questions where needed.
Encourage pupils to review their understanding before retrying. Observe persistence, confidence, self-reflection and willingness to seek help. Treat mistakes as opportunities to learn.
Celebrate progress alongside certificates. Ask: “What do you understand better now?” and “How could you use this learning?”
Click the link and complete the online quiz. Read each question carefully and use what you have learnt throughout the lesson.
Score 80% or more to receive your certificate. You can try as many times as you like. If you do not reach 80% yet, revisit the activities and try again.
Celebrate your progress and think about one idea you could use in real life.
