Head of Department: Ms C Hateley

Curriculum Intent

Through the study of economics we aim to help students understand the world we live in and the decisions made every day; whether those decisions are made by individuals, businesses, the government or countries.; all of which pay a key role in our ever evolving and adapting world. In Economics we build models to try to explain how situations work, so we can then try to make them better. But with all decisions, there are positives and negatives, students will learn to critically analyse these decisions, the models and their impacts on key groups, as well as evaluate their uses and limitations to real world application. They will draw upon the most up to date statistics and news items to look at their studies in context.

In Economics there are rarely simple, right answers – otherwise why would the politicians disagree so often? In economics students will learn to debate some of the big government decisions that are being made from all sides of the argument.

At Key Stage 4 students will be introduced to the two main areas of economics, microeconomics and macroeconomics. In Year 10 they will study the models of demand and supply and the impacts that changes in circumstances can have on prices and firms. They will also go on to study the main government objectives, how they are calculated and policy decisions that can affect them. They will learn to analyse the impact of changes and evaluate the limitations and assumptions these models make.

At Key Stage 5 we continue to study micro and macro economics but in far greater depth. Students will study the details of models and their impact on the wider economy, learning to analyse and evaluate to a greater depth. Students will also take a further look at other countries from both the developing and the developed world and have a greater understanding of trade. Students will also have a greater picture of the connections between micro and macro economics, as well as looking at short-run versus long run implications.