PUPILS at a Taunton secondary school have set up their own bank.

The venture at The St Augustine of Canterbury School is the first of its kind in a Somerset school.

Pupils have taken on roles such as cashiers, customer services and marketing executives.

It opens in the school library for 45 minutes every Tuesday before lessons under the supervision of two members of staff.

Gary Bacon, from NatWest, was instrumental in helping the students set it up with the aim of helping them understand the basics of managing money.

He said: "It forms part of NatWest's MoneySense for Schools programme, which is celebrating more than a decade of educating children about the world of personal finance and enterprise."

NatWest is offering ongoing support to the pupils running the bank - they were trained up after successfully applying for the posts.

A spokesman said: "All pupils at the school will have the opportunity to open an account and will be able to pay in money at the school bank during opening hours.

"They will also receive regular statements, which NatWest staff will go through with them to help them understand the process of running a bank account."