‘Crunch’ time with the Sharks

SCHOOL children from Oldham took part in a touch rugby competition organised by Sale Sharks RUFC and financial services company MBNA to celebrate graduating from a unique financial education programme.

Ten schools from across the North-West, including the Oldham Academy North, competed for the MBNA Cup at Sale’s Carrington training complex after completing Number Cruncherz – a free programme for Year Seven children that uses the power of rugby to teach young people more about money.

Jonny Acheson, Sale Sharks Community Trust manager, said: “This is the first year of the MBNA Cup touch rugby tournament and it’s a fantastic way for children to celebrate taking part in the Number Cruncherz programme.

“All the schools involved this year played some great touch rugby, but importantly they all really enjoyed the rest of the programme, which aims to make money management easier for young people.

“It does that by combining the excitement of rugby with important financial literacy skills to create an enjoyable experience that we hope children will remember for a long time.

More than 2,000 children across the North-West and North Wales have now graduated from the Number Cruncherz programme, following its launch in 2014.

Number Cruncherz is free for schools to join and anyone wanting more information or to get involved should email: community@ salesharks.com or call 0161 667 7518.