Economics
Our curriculum is designed to prepare students to think like economists, decode the financial world around them, and understand the dynamic forces shaping our global society. It focuses on how microeconomic and macroeconomic principles impact our daily choices, career paths, and the wider economic and social environment.
Course Overview
- Theme 1: Introduction to Markets and Market Failure — Learners discover how supply and demand interact to determine prices and allocate resources. They will evaluate alternative views of consumer behaviour, questioning why individuals do not always behave rationally due to habitual behaviour or a weakness at computation.
- Theme 2: The UK Economy – Performance and Policies — Students analyze core measures of economic health such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), and employment. They investigate aggregate demand and aggregate supply (AD/AS) models to assess how the Bank of England uses monetary tools like Quantitative Easing (QE) to steer the national economy.
- Theme 3: Business Behaviour and the Labour Market — This segment focuses on business economics, assessing how firms grow via organic expansion or horizontal and vertical integration. Learners will model different market structures—ranging from perfect competition and monopolistic competition to oligopolies and monopolies—using economic theory and tools like simple Game Theory (the Prisoner’s Dilemma). They also examine how wages are determined and evaluate the costs and benefits of a monopsony employer.
- Theme 4: A Global Perspective — Applying economic theory to the international stage, students research the significance of globalisation, international trade, and restrictions like tariffs and quotas. They study poverty and inequality using the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient, assess emerging economies through the Human Development Index (HDI), and inspect market failures in the financial sector, including moral hazard and speculation bubbles.
Skills, Assessment, and Progression
- Analytical & Quantitative Rigor — Throughout the two years, students develop competence in key quantitative skills, including calculating elasticities, interpreting index numbers, and converting nominal values to real terms.
- Real-World Application — The curriculum is explicitly sequenced to connect theory with actual historical and current events. Students learn to use evidence to build, analyze, and rigorously evaluate economic arguments to support informed judgements.
- Assessment Structure — Linear assessment occurs at the end of the two-year course via three externally examined papers: Paper 1 (Microeconomics), Paper 2 (Macroeconomics), and Paper 3 (a synoptic paper assessing Microeconomics and Macroeconomics across all four themes).
Entry Requirements
- To ensure students are equipped for the rigorous essay writing, critical evaluation, and statistical analysis required in this subject, the entry requirements are a Grade 6 at GCSE English and Grade 6 at GCSE Mathematics.
You can view the full course outline via the Pearson Edexcel Economics A Specification.