Finance and Fashion don’t usually go hand in hand, but recently they did at Nelson and Colne College Sixth Form! As part of Barclays Money Skills Week, students learned all about budgeting and finance, then swapped clothes and accessories in an exciting “Swishing” event!

Barclays Money Skills Week is a money management programme designed to strengthen further education students’ financial and employability skills. It aims to increase students’ knowledge and confidence in managing their money, reduce financial stress and increase their chances of achieving their financial goals.

The College is dedicated to teaching students valuable skills that will last them for the rest of their lives, and as part of this the College was pleased to take part in the Barclays Money Skills Week. For a week, students took part in budgeting and finance sessions during their tutorials to ensure that they are money-wise when they leave the College!

During the Barclays Money Skills Week, students also arranged and took part in a fantastic Swishing to Save event. Swishing was brought to the public eye by Futerra, the UK’s leading sustainability communications agency. It is, at heart, an ethical way of changing one’s wardrobe – by trading clothes and accessories with other likeminded people! Staff and students alike brought in unwanted clothes, accessories and shoes and were then able to select new goods from the selection on display.

Anna Vorstman, Student Welfare Adviser, led Swishing to Save at the College and was thrilled with its success: “It was great to see students and staff alike making the most of the Swish event – and not spending a penny in the process!”