Gone are the days when family finances were the concern only of adults.

Sixth-formers are now being given advice on how best to manage their cash as they prepare to join the world of independent living.

Barnet Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) is running a scheme in schools to help pupils manage budgets, juggle financial priorities and understand basic living costs — to guide them away from the pitfalls of debt.

Tim Clark, chief executive of Barnet CAB, said the initiative aimed to be “more proactive than reactive”.

He said: “We are looking at prevention being better than cure and we are going into schools and providing financial literacy training.

“By extending this type of training when people are young, perhaps in five years they won’t be beating a path to our door.

“It is better if we can provide an effective and efficient way of getting that preventative help out there to stop them getting into debt in the future.”

The scheme began in January and funding from Barnet Council has enabled it to carry on this academic year.

Advisers from Barnet CAB will be visiting Hendon School, in Golders Rise, on October 13, as one of eight schools already signed up to the classes.

Whitefield School, in Claremont Road, Crickle-wood, has a close connection with CAB and hosts an advice clinic in its community learning area once a week for pupils, parents and residents.

Once a month there is also a financial training session.

Elaine Willey, deputy headteacher of Whitefield, said: “I met with Tim Clark and we decided it was a really good idea to have this outreach centre in the school.

“Some of our sixth-formers are living independently and they need these skills to be able to deal with the issues that come with that.

“So to have the advice available to them in school is quite ground-breaking. The advice has been incorporated into classes which is helping to prepare pupils for the future by building their financial literacy.”

Mr Clark believes the ongoing work will benefit a wider generation of young people and hopes to extend it to more schools in the borough.

He added: “We can help when people come in with a debt problem, but we want to help them not get into debt in the first place.

“The schools are very complimentary about the training and services and it’s something that ideally all schools and age groups will benefit from.

“We have limited resources at the moment, but our aim is to teach all young people in Barnet, because we feel it’s incredibly important.”

A spokesman for Barnet Council said the Learning Network Board had given Barnet CAB £13,500 to support them through this academic year. He said: “Already, the CAB has had success in working with Year 11 students in Barnet, and this money will enable the classes to be extended.”