The Department of Economics

It has been another successful year for the Economics Department in 2012 2013. The department achieved yet another successful set of examination results with 95% of A level students achieving A*B. The department was elated that 7 students were offered places at Oxbridge in 2013 for related course in Economics. As per normal the department has been involved in a number of scholarship opportunities which help to deepen and extend students understanding of the World Economy including the Bank of England, Target 2.0, Politics and Economics Society and the annual visit to Washington and New York. At the end of the academic year Mr Booth who has taught Economics at the school for 17 years left to become Deputy Headmaster at Townley Grammar School. The department has been joined by Mr William Haines who has already proved himself in his proactive involvement in Political economy society.

Lower VI Trip: Washington and New York

In activity week 27 students visited Washington DC and New York. The Trip encompasses visits to both Economic Political and Historical landmarks and organisations. The highlights of trip involve visiting The World Bank, US Congress United Nations, Federal Reserve and Wall Street. These visits provide the students of both Economics and History A level with real contextual examples in relation to key events and world economic policy. In particular the visit to the World Bank and The United Nations provide an excellent launch pad for the subject of Development Economics which is studied in Year 13 Economics. The visit also includes visits to many tourist landmarks including the White House, Lincoln Memorial in Washington, and The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Empire state building, The Rockefeller centre and statue of Liberty in New York.

Political Economy Society

The thriving Political Economy society has seen a range of talks and discussions throughout 2012-2013 by students. The highlight of the year came about when the society welcomed Paul Mason Newsnight’s Economics editor pictured below, with Gavin Benson and Theo Clifford. He delivered an excellent talk about the impact of austerity. In addition to this talk, the society welcomed Madision Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute and Johnny Glennie from the Guardian.

Young Writers’ Competition

The school recently received a letter from the Baillie Gifford & Financial Mail Young Writers’ Competition congratulating Theo Clifford (13T) on his selection as a finalist in the 16-18 section. His essay on “When do you want to retire and how do you plan to fund this?” won £50 of book tokens for the school in addition to some for his personal use.

Careers Information Talks

In the spring term, there has been a series of careers information talks which took place at the end of the school day. Talks included Accountancy, Medicine, Journalism, Engineering and Investment Banking. They provided a valuable insight into careers in these areas and were delivered by Old Olavians and school parents.

Young Enterprise

The Young Enterprise Company Exponential ended this year’s competition by being runners up in the Bromley Borough having. The team produced a range of products including calendars, mother’s day gifts and a series of personalised gifts.

Economics Conference

On Monday 3rd December Year 13 Economists attended a conference in London to enjoy a range of presentations by Ed Balls MP (Shadow Chancellor), Hugh Pym (Economics Editor, BBC), Tim Harford (Author of ‘The Undercover Economist’, BBC and the FT) and various economists.

Bank of England - Target 2.0

On the 26th February the Saint Olave’s Monetary Policy committee represented the school in the Area final. The competition involves the students analysing Economic data and making a recommendation as to what the Bank of England should do to achieve the inflation target of 2%. The team opted to incentive banks to encourage more lending in the economy. The team unfortunately did not win through to the national final but they would like to thank everyone for helping to fill in their surveys.

Work Related Learning & Enterprise Days

As part of their work related learning, Year 10 visited the Bank of England including a talk giving valuable insight into why it is essential to manage inflation in the economy and what constitutes economic stability. The day also included a business game which all enjoyed.