Head of Department: Mr C Upton BA (Hons) (Durham), PGCE (Sunderland)
Email: cupton@stedmundscollege.org
Course Content in Rhetoric I
Students will be introduced to two themes.
Markets and Market Failure and The UK Economy, Performance and Policies, both of which have equal weighting.
Course Content in Rhetoric II
At A Level the students are expected to take a linear approach to Economics and will be examined based on this with new themes being introduced; Business Behaviour and The Labour Market and A Global Perspective. At the end of Year 2 each student will sit three examination papers.
Paper 1, Markets and Business Behaviour (35%) will draw questions from Introduction to Markets and Market Failure and Business Behaviour and The Labour Market.
Paper 2, The National and Global Economy (35%) will draw questions from The UK Economy Performance and Policies and A Global Perspective.
Paper 3, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
(30%). Students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding, make connections and transfer higher-order skills across all four themes.
Key skills
The Economics department aims to stimulate interest in key issues in the news affecting everyday life. Our goal is to allow students to understand the forces driving the price of oil, exchange rates and the level of unemployment in an economy.
Choosing A Level Economics gives students the opportunity to develop a number of key skills including:
- Their ability to use language, numbers and ICT to assist them in the analysis of the economy
- Practical presentation skills in analysing the impact of events on economies worldwide
- Understanding the methods and language used in economic contexts
- Examining the implications of complex and changing dynamics
- Understanding and interpreting information in verbal, numerical and graphical format and presenting findings using written communication and ICT
- Personal qualities such as initiative, self-confidence and independence
- People, communication, planning and teamwork skills
- Knowledge and skills relevant to the economic world through practical participation in a range of activities
- Techniques, personal skills and attributes essential for successful performance in working life.
Enrichment opportunities
The department believes in providing students with a variety of opportunities to enhance their
Economics interests. This is achieved through class projects, study groups and organised competitions. The aim is to ensure that the students have several opportunities for social
interaction and networking with students, faculty, and alumni.
A Level Economics students are provided with the opportunity to go to the London Stock Exchange and experience real life trading, which, with a tour of the London offices, brings theory learnt in the classroom to life.
Higher education and career prospects
A Level Economics can lead into a variety of differing career areas as students learn a range of transferable skills including collecting and analysing economic information from different sources, developing written communication skills and problem-solving ability. While these will be valuable for many university courses, Economics will particularly support the higher education required to become an economist.
Economics links closely with the finance sector including Banking, Accountancy, Tax Advice, Actuarial Work, Investment Banking, Financial Analyst roles, Management Consultancy, Insurance and Trading. Economics can also lead to roles in the Management, Marketing, Journalism, Sales and Advertising, Human Resource Management, ICT and Education sectors.