Progress in 2005: Major Community Partnerships

Increased focus on financial literacy. As a financial services company, it is important to us that our future citizens, and therefore our potential customers, are financially literate and able to make sensible and informed decisions about straightforward financial matters. For this reason we have increased our investment in charities, organisations and projects that promote various aspects of financial literacy. These include:

Charity/Project	Description	2005 : What was Achieved?
Age Concern	Funding for the production of a financial self-help guide, to be produced as a CD-ROM. Aims are to promote self-education by using a 'decision-tree' approach, and to help users become familiar with financial terminology and plan for retirement in an informed way.	N/A (to be launched during 2006)
Millennium Mathematics Project (MMP)	Support for an interactive video-conferencing and e-mentoring pilot project linking Cambridge University with three state schools in Cardiff. Aimed at increasing pupils' interest and confidence in maths, and increasing their awareness of applications of maths in other disciplines.	Pupil presentations so far have been of an excellent standard and indicate a high level of enthusiasm on the part of the pupils. In November 2005, the MMP won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, the highest award for achievement to the further education sector.
UK Mathematics Trust	Funding for 'teacher meetings' for primary and secondary school maths teachers. Designed to help teachers improve their classroom practice and make lessons more interesting and relevant to pupils. Ultimate aim is to improve pupils' enjoyment of maths and their appreciation of its relevance to everyday life.	Last year, well over 1,000 maths teachers attended a meeting. Feedback has shown a high degree of satisfaction with the events, which have attracted delegates from a wide range of schools across the country and the academic spectrum.

Continued support for the Royal Opera House (ROH). We're now in our second year of support for the ROH Schools' Matinee Programme, an annual series of six matinee performances which give many schoolchildren their first experience of top-quality ballet and opera in a prestigious international theatre. The ROH supplies education packs and runs Study Days prior to performances, ensuring well-informed audiences. The 2004/5 Programme was over-subscribed for all performances, with 320 schools taking part. 35% of schools attending were new to the Programme, and considerable success was also achieved in fulfilling Legal & General's priorities, namely attracting schools from Education Action Zones, and schools local to Legal & General offices.

For further information on some of the charities we currently support, please click on the links below: