Economics
Upcoming Trips
Year 12 and 13 Economics trip to London: Monday December 8th 2008
This will be an opportunity for both Year 12 and Year 13 to hear from a range of expert economists in what should be an exciting all day event.
Year 12 and 13 Economics and Politics trip to Brussels and Frankfurt Sunday 14th December to Saturday 20th December 2008:
This fantastic trip is available for the current Years 11 and 12 going into Years 12 and 13 in the autumn. It should include Economics visits to a newspaper plant, a brandy distillery and the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and the National Bank of Belgium and a chocolate factory in Brussels, as well as a range of Politics visits. There may be a couple of spare places still available so please contact me if you are interested.
Year 12 and 13 Economics and Politics trip to Strasbourg and Luxembourg Sunday 13th December to Friday 18th December 2009:
This exciting opportunity will be available in December 2009 for the current Year 10 and 11 going into Year 11 and 12 in the autumn. It should include Economics visits to a car plant, a winery, a gingerbread factory and a river cruise, as well as a range of Politics visits. This trip will be formally advertised in September 2008 as bookings of hotels need to be arranged well in advance.
Events
Economics and Politics trip to Luxembourg, Strasbourg and Brussels December 2007
This highly successful trip included a particularly popular visit to the Peugeot Car Plant in Mulhouse. This included tours of various sections of the car plant including the assembly of the Peugeot 308 models.
Outside the Peugeot car plant
“The Peugeot Plant was brilliant – really interesting” – a Year 12 student
On the river cruise in Strasbourg
We also visited a winery outside Strasbourg where the students were able to see how a co-operative worked. The brewery in Strasbourg allowed the girls to see how a large business marketed itself and benefited by producing on a large scale.
This contrasted with a small-scale Gingerbread factory and river cruise, as well as a range of Politics trips.
“The trip was great fun and really enjoyable – more so than I was expecting! I can’t wait to go to Brussels and Frankfurt next year.” – A Year 12 student
Particular thanks go to Miss Pallas-Brown for giving up a week of her holiday to come on the trip.
Bank of England Target 2.0 Competition - Friday 30th November
Four Year 13 students, Lydia Nicola, Suneina Jangra, Sneha Sinha and Jing Zhou competed in the Oxfordshire heat of the Economics competition to mirror the Bank of England’s monthly decision on interest rates. They gave a fifteen minute talk with a powerpoint presentation followed by questions from a panel of experts from the Bank of England. Though they did not proceed to the next round they were impressive especially in questioning. Well done to all of them.
Economics Conference to London - Monday 26th November
The Year 12 and Year 13 economists were able to hear a range of speakers at a recent Economics conference in London. These included Allister Heath who spoke about the impact of globalisation and three excellent talks about the UK economy from Robert Chote, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Stephanie Flanders Economics editor of Newsnight and Colin Ellis from the Bank of England. They were also able to hear from Tony Benn and Kenneth Clarke as well as a lively discussion from Sir Andrew Green, Director of Migration Watch.
Young Economist of the Year competition - Spring 2007
Three Year 12 students, Phoebe de Raeve, Lydia Nicola and Sneha Sinha all entered the Young Economist of the Year competition, a national competition for AS and A2 economists. This involved writing an extended essay on a topic of their choice. The results are announced in August and we wish them well.
Confederation of British Industry conference - Wednesday 6th June 2007
Six Year 13 economists attended a high-powered seminar organised by the Confederation of British Industry entitled, “Fat cats or corporate champions? The reputation of business in the 21st century.” This included the Director General of the CBI, Richard Lambert and the General Secretary of the TUC, Brendan Barber. Jenny Boon asked a question during the Question Time session and followed this up in debate, whilst Anastasya Molodykh contributed to the discussion. Thank you to Miss Rachael Pallas-Brown for taking the students to Unipart in Cowley for the conference.
Economics/Politics Trip to Brussels – 17th to 22nd December 2006
Twenty Year 12 and Year 13 Politics and Economics students spent a fascinating five days in Brussels on a joint Economics and Politics trip after the end of term. The visit to Journal Le Soir, the largest French-speaking newspaper in Belgium was very impressive. It featured a multi-million Euro business that was heavily mechanised especially using robots which moved huge quantities of paper.
The National Bank of Belgium featured a highly-contested outline of the benefits of the single currency. The speaker outlined the impact that the single currency had had on the Belgian economy and how interest rates were now set as part of the Euro zone.
For many the highlight of the trip was the sampling of chocolate at Chocolaterie Duval.
This was a very small scale business that had captured a niche market in selling chocolates to organisations such as Eurostar. Particularly impressive was one of this year’s Young Enterprise company, CoCo negotiating a deal with M. Duval at the chocolate factory for a large quantity of colour-changing mugs.
The final day’s visits had their moments. The visit to the VW Factory was cancelled literally at the last minute as the plant had just been shut down – some economics in that decision alone. Undaunted, we went instead to Antwerp to visit a Diamond Museum. Particular praise should go to Emily Miles and Alice Meredith, both in Year 13, for translating into English our driver’s commentary on the journey to Antwerp. The afternoon tour round the Belle-Vue Brewery was very informative once we found the entrance and showed the marketing needed for a large business that had been taken over by Interbrew.
Overall, this was a hugely successful trip. Particular thanks go to Mrs Burdett for giving up her holiday and to the Belgians for their endless supply of waffles and chocolate.
Personnel
One member of staff is involved in the teaching of Economics who teaches six lessons in Year 12 and eight lessons in Year 13. Economics is only taught in the sixth form. The Head of Economics also is Head of Politics.
Current staff:
Mr. M. W. Gallacher
MA Hons Oxon in Economics and Politics
Facilities and Resources
Economics is available in the sixth form at AS and A2 level. Everyone at Oxford High School is studying the subject for the first time. It offers girls the opportunity to interpret and evaluate economic data on current economic issues. Girls are encouraged to use Economic Review articles, a magazine written for A level students to develop and consolidate their understanding. The girls are encouraged to look up figures about the UK economy. Websites are available and catalogued by topic.
Textbooks and other Economics material are stored either in the Economics stock cupboard or in Room S5 depending on the nature of the material. The Economics department has access to a TV/ video recorder in the sixth form block which is stored in the Economics/Maths stock cupboard. Videos are stored in the stock cupboard. Economic Review articles are stored by date with an easy filing system by topic in the library along with a copy of all Economic Review lists and essay titles on each topic and a well-stocked selection of library books. Past Papers are stored in the Economics stock cupboard.
Numbers fluctuate in Economics, although approximately ten to twelve study the Edexcel Examination Board on average each year. All girls are taught by year though they are encouraged to integrate through such means as the Economics society which meets to discuss topical Economics issues on an occasional basis.
Curriculum
Year 12 Economics Syllabus
The Edexcel (London) board is studied by all girls with the AS examination taken at the end of Year 12. The girls are given a copy of Economics Explained by Maunder et al as their main textbook. This is supplemented by A key to Multiple Choice by Russell Tilson and an issue of The Student’s Economy in Focus by Alain Anderton. Topic books for all units are now available. In addition, girls are encouraged to subscribe to the Economic Review a journal written specifically for AS and A level Economists at an approximate cost of £9. Back issues are available in the Economics room and are catalogued by topic. Internet web sites are also catalogued by topic. There are three units studied in Year 12, which are assessed by supported choice questions, data response questions and essays.
Unit 1: Markets: How they work
The unit provides an introduction to the nature of Economics and examines the operation of markets for goods and services. Students should understand the price mechanism as a means of allocating resources and be able to apply supply and demand to real world situations.
AS 30% A 15%
Topics:
The Economic problem and economic systems
Demand and Supply
Elasticity
Applications of demand and supply
Government intervention in markets
Assessment:
1 hour – a mixture of 8 supported choice questions and one data response question from a choice
of two.
Unit 2: Markets: Why they fail
The unit examines the nature of market failure, its causes and possible policy remedies. Students should be able to understand why markets might not allocate resources efficiently and the methods of dealing with market failure, together with an evaluation of their effectiveness.
AS 30% A 15%
Topics:
Market failure
Types of market failure
Remedies for market failure
Government failure
Assessment:
1 hour – one data response question from a choice of two.
Unit 3: Managing the economy
The unit provides an introduction to the key measures of economic performance and the main objectives and instruments of government policy. Students should have an understanding of the key goals of government policy, the basic aggregate demand/supply model and the policies that can be used in the management of the economy.
AS 40% A 20%
Topics:
Measures of the economic performance of countries
Aggregate Demand
Aggregate Supply
Macroeconomic Policy Objectives
Conflict between these objectives
Supply and demand side policies
Assessment:
1 hour – one data response question from a choice of two.
Year 13 Economics Syllabus
The Edexcel (London) board is studied by all girls with the A2 examination taken at the end of Year
13. The girls are given a copy of Economics Explained by Maunder et al as their main textbook. This
is supplemented by A key to Multiple Choice by Russell Tilson and an issue of The Student’s
Economy in Focus by Alain Anderton. Girls are given topic books on Unit 4,Unit 5A and Unit 6.. In
addition, girls are encouraged to subscribe to the Economic Review a journal written specifically
for AS and A level Economists at an approximate cost of £9. Back issues are available in the
Economics room and are catalogued by topic. Internet web sites are also catalogued by topic. There
are three units studied in Year 13, which are assessed by supported choice questions, data response
questions and essays.
Unit 4: Industrial Economics
The unit develops the content of units 1 and 2 and examines how the pricing of, and nature of competition between, firms is affected by the number and size of market participants. Students should be able to analyse the pricing and output decisions of firms in different contexts. They should be capable of making an appraisal of government intervention aimed at promoting competitive markets.
A2 30% A 15%
Topics:
The birth and growth of firms
Alternative motives of firms
Market structures
Pricing and non-pricing strategies
Contestable markets
Competition policy in the UK and EU
Regulation of privatised industries
Assessment:
1 hour and 15 minutes – a mixture of 10 supported choice questions plus one data response
from a choice of two.
Unit 5A: Labour Markets
The unit provides a framework for the analysis of labour markets with particular reference to the UK and EU. It also examines the associated issues of the distribution of income and wealth. Students should be able to analyse wage determination and understand the reasons for wage differentials and factors that determine differences of both income and capital in the UK.
A2 30% A 15%
Topics:
The supply of labour
The demand for labour
Wage determination
Wage differentials
Government intervention in labour markets
Monopsony
Unemployment and labour market imperfections
Government policies to influence geographical and occupational mobility
UK and EU labour markets
Ageing populations
Distribution of income and wealth
Measurement of inequality
Policy issues
Assessment:
1 hour and 30 minutes – one data response question from a choice of two.
Unit 6: The UK in the global economy.
The unit develops the content of units 1 and 3 by examining the position of the UK in the context of the world economy. It focuses on international trade and exchange rate issues. Students should be able to evaluate the macroeconomic performance of the UK in a European Union and global perspective.
AS 40% A 20%
Topics:
Factors contributing to globalisation
International exchange
Trade liberalisation and protectionism
The Balance of Payments
International Competitiveness
Exchange rate systems
European Monetary Union
Inward foreign investment
Public expenditure and taxation
The working of fiscal, monetary and supply side policies
Unemployment and inflation
Assessment:
1 hour and 45 minutes – one structured essay from a choice of two and one data response question
from a choice of two.