Economics

Economics is a dynamic social science and is essentially about the concept of scarcity and the problem of resource allocation. Economics is offered at A level and as part of the IB Diploma (at Higher and Standard Levels). It is a popular subject in the Sixth Form with approximately 100 pupils following the courses on offer. All pupils start the subject from scratch, with no presumption of prior knowledge.

Programmes of Study
Enrichment  
  

Teaching Staff

Mr P J O'Sullivan (Head of Department)
Mr P N Keighley
Mr T Hare
Mr C Harrison

Programmes of Study

Economics is not a discrete subject: it incorporates elements of History, Geography, Psychology, Sociology, Political Studies and many other related fields and yet it is studied as an integrated subject with much of the assessment requiring pupils to apply a broad range of economic theories and ideas to particular questions.

The A level and IB courses both involve the formulation and understanding of theoretical concepts. These theories are regularly compared to real world examples, giving the subject an applied aspect. 

Both courses also cover Microeconomics, including a consideration of such basic concepts as scarcity, choice, the function of markets and market failure, and how firms operate in markets that are either competitive or monopolistic. Macroeconomics covers economy-wide issues such as economic growth, unemployment, inflation and international trade. The role of the government is an important theme and both courses place a strong emphasis on international issues such as globalisation and development economics.

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Enrichment

An Oxbridge discussion group meets during ‘Studies’ on Thursdays. This provides a focus for the presentation of essay papers and is a source of lively debate.  Upper Sixth pupils applying for Economics, PPE or Economics & Mathematics are able to develop interview skills they will require for Oxbridge and beyond.

The Economics and Politics Departments have collaborated to publish Indaba (a student-led and produced magazine)o n the College’s intranet site. Interesting and topical articles expand pupils' horizons taking them beyond the confines of the textbook and the classroom.

Each year, Upper school pupils enter the Royal Economic Society’s search for ‘Young Economist of the year’. 

The Department has also entered the Bank of England’s Target Two Point Zero Challenge - a national monetary policy competition for schools and colleges, which the Bank of England runs in conjunction with The Times. The Challenge gives teams of pupils age 16-18 the chance to take on the role of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, to assess economic conditions and the outlook for inflation and to tell panels of judges what interest rate they would set to achieve the Government's inflation target of 2.0%.

Last year, nine teams (with four pupils in each team) participated in the IFS Proshare competition: teams, with a notional sum of £100,000 to invest, buy and sell shares. Results are published weekly on the I.F.S. competition website.