Carrington Dean, a Glasgow-based financial solutions business, is launching a new financial education programme for secondary school pupils in Scotland.

It is designed to address critical gaps in teenagers' understanding of key personal finance issues and to teach them how to handle money responsibly.

The initiative stemmed from a comprehensive research project conducted by Carrington Dean which gathered the views of 1,042 young Scots aged between 15 and 17. It revealed 82 per cent of teenagers believe they have not been taught enough at school about personal finance.

The Carrington Dean Financial Education Report 2014 also revealed a widespread lack of confidence in understanding basic financial documents such as bank statements and mobile phone bills as well as deeper financial anxieties, with debt emerging as a significant concern among Scottish teenagers.

Peter Dean, managing director of Carrington Dean, which includes Scotland's largest independent debt solutions business, said: "We firmly believe that financial education has an important part to play in breaking the cycle of poor financial literacy and financial hardship.

"We also believe it is important to give something back to the communities we serve. We are offering to help schools deliver lessons which will help more young people in Scotland mature into adults capable of managing their own financial affairs, of confidently evaluating financial options, and of building a financially secure future."

For more information about financial education visit CarringtonDean.com