For 45 minutes, the seven clerks, all Year 6 pupils, each allotted a class, have to fill in paying-in books, make appropriate records and balance their books.

The seven accounts are then brought together, audited by two other pupils and the total paying-in book passed to Vince Wright, the headteacher, for signing. This is then taken to the local branch by the school secretary.

It is a routine which Mr Wright has maintained for 17 years. He said: “The children gain a lot from the exercise. They feel part of that bank and they do their job very well.”

The school this year received Pounds 500 as one of 10 national winners of the Yorkshire Bank’s conservation award scheme. Senior pupils had discovered what kind of wildlife garden children wanted and then drawn up plans for a pond and grassland area.

Mr Wright says the school also enjoys a favourable rate of interest on its current account. “We don’t push the bank at parents,” he said, “but we have a good relationship which is of mutual benefit.”