Economics

This course is designed to develop an appreciation of the way in which governments apply the world’s resources to satisfying the planet’s insatiable desire for goods and services.

The key investigation areas are:

• Methodology – understanding the first principles of consumer behaviour and of companies that attempt to maximise profits.
• Markets – examining how the allocation of resources by market forces can lead to undesirable outcomes such as pollution and poverty.
• Macro economy – investigating the implications of the global debt crisis, the expansion of the Euro zone, and the changes to tax and interest rates upon the nation’s prosperity.

Assessment is via four modular examinations over a two – year period, with AS examinations taken in the second January of the course. No coursework option is available.

Our business forum is pro-active in bringing in academics and policy makers so that students can examine different perspectives. Visits to the City’s financial institutions, and external lectures and seminars are also arranged to develop an understanding of financial markets and the key institutions. Recently, lectures have been delivered on: the cause of the credit crunch, the sustainability of tourism and the economics of education.

The subject is enriched by the diversity of challenges that the world presents to economic policy makers, notably the recent recession, and our students are encouraged to develop rigorous powers of analysis and evaluation. We recommend that a candidate can demonstrate strength at GCSE level in a broad range of subjects, but particularly in mathematics and in an evaluative humanity such as history.

Nearly all our A level candidates go on to study economics or a related subject at university. A wide range of career paths are available not just in finance and business but also in the law, in UK and European public policy making, and in journalism.

Exam board
AQA

Mr N Newman
Head of Business Studies and Economics