Pupils at Chilton Foliat village school only have to pop along the corridor when they want to put some of their pocket money into savings because the school has opened its own bank.

The primary school that recently achieved good marks in an Ofsted report is celebrating branching out to provide more than just lessons for its children, and is banking on its newest facility becoming a major success.

Lorraine Sears and Sarah Fradgley from the Hungerford branch of NatWest have helped the children set up the bank so that they can begin to understand the basics of running an account and managing their money.

The move is part of NatWest’s MoneySense for Schools programme. The pupils run the bank themselves under the guidance of head Donni Blackwell and her staff.

They have all been invited to open savings accounts, which are proper accounts they can use at any bank in the country.

However at the school bank they can only pay cash in, which the school is responsible for paying into the NatWest branch in Hungerford. A NatWest spokeswoman said: “The children will receive regular statements which NatWest staff will go through with them, to help them understand the process of running a bank account.”

Every child joining will be given £1 by NatWest to launch their accounts and, to add a fun element, will be given a plastic pig to decorate and possibly win a £5 prize to top up their savings.

Mrs Blackwell, who became head last September, said: “The children are really excited about this venture.

“It’s very important that they gain basic money management and enterprise skills and setting up, running and using their own bank is a practical and fun way of doing this and brings alive what happens in real life.”

Ms Fradgley said that the importance of financial capability for young people could not be underestimated.

She said: “It’s essential that they are equipped with the skills and confidence required to make decisions in adult life.”