For many years the Education Committee had conducted savings Banks in the elementary schools of the city. These Banks were worked by the teachers in a manner somewhat similar to that in operation in other parts of the country. It was the general practice for scholars to receive back their savings when they left school, but with a Municipal Bank in existence, it was natural that means should be provided whereby the accumulated savings of the scholar should be transferred to an account in his name in the Municipal Bank.

 

In order to establish such a continuous chain, a deputation visited Leeds in 1920 to enquire into the system worked in conjunction with the Yorkshire Penny Bank. It was found that although the system was similar to the one in Birmingham, it included arrangements whereby a transfer was effected from the scholar's account to a Bank account as soon as the sum of £1 had been accumulated. The officials of the Yorkshire Penny Bank attached great importance to this early Bank contact with the scholar.

 

Visits have also been paid to Perth and York, where school savings banks are successfully worked. In particular, we were very much impressed with the Perth system and its results, which are largely due to the keenness and enthusiasm of the teachers and the organising ability of Mr W A Barclay, actuary of the Perth Savings Bank, who is a renowned authority on school savings bank work.

 

The scheme in force in Birmingham preserves the separate identity of the school savings bank while associating it with the Municipal Bank, and provides for the transfer of the amount standing to the credit of the scholar in the school bank to an account in his name in the Municipal Bank six months before leaving school.

 

It was arranged that the treasurer of the school savings bank should be co-opted as a member of the Bank Committee, and, accordingly, Mr F W Daniels was appointed by the City Council on the 9th November, 1920, and has continued his membership since that date.

 

The figures given below show the transactions which have taken place:-

	Amount deposited (£-s-d)	Amount withdrawn (£-s-d)	Accounts transferred to Municipal Bank
13 months ended 31st March, 1922	48,111-0-7	42,966-12-3	302
Year ended 31st March, 1923	42,556-14-8	41,337-18-5	57
Year ended 31st March, 1924	49,335-13-5	44,337-11-1	69
Year ended 31st March, 1925	48,982-1-3	50,030-17-1	363
Year ended 31st March, 1926	47,312-6-1	47,949-6-9	392
Year ended 31st March, 1927	41,866-19-6	42,599-15-4	212

The table indicates very little movement in the amounts of savings or the number of accounts, and the possibility of improving the arrangements in such a way as to give better results is exercising the minds of members of the Education and Bank Committees at the present time.

 

NOTE:

 

In Annual Reports issued subsequently to the publication of J P Hilton's book, the figures relating to

Schools Savings Banks were reported until the scheme was discontinued during the Second World War.

	Amount deposited (£-s-d)	Amount withdrawn (£-s-d)	Accounts transferred to Municipal Bank	Amount Transferred (£-s-d)
Year ended 31st March, 1928	44,383-2-1	43,374-5-3	-	-
Year ended 31st March, 1929	40,593-12-1	43,242-6-9	-	-
Year ended 31st March, 1930	47,783-16-9	35,203-4-9	10,365	15,300-7-2
Year ended 31st March, 1931	23,799-12-4	15,308-16-8	10,834	10,879-4-3
Year ended 31st March, 1932	20,323-14-9	13,121-6-9	8,259	8,551-7-9
Year ended 31st March, 1933	18,934-17-10	11,348-7-8	6,979	7,239-11-6
Year ended 31st March, 1934	18,684-8-2	14,213-12-6	6,926	7,720-18-4
Year ended 31st March, 1935	22,316-16-7	13,141-15-11	7,632	7,910-8-10
Year ended 31st March, 1936	21,552-8-10	14,243-0-2	7,482	7,701-6-8
Year ended 31st March, 1937	22,416-13-3	14,616-4-11	7,717	7,974-12-5
Year ended 31st March, 1938	21,792-19-8	14,156-0-0	7,297	7,627-9-8
Year ended 31st March, 1939	20,919-7-2	13,655-12-0	7,295	7,562-14-0
Year ended 31st March, 1940	8,139-14-7	14,131-13-2	1,016	1,060-10-0