Economics

Economics is offered to all students when they pick their Year 12 options.

The curriculum intent for Economics at CRGS is for students to equip themselves with the requisite skills to understand how the structure of the economy operates, which in turn feeds into the overall macroeconomy. The former is taught using a number of games and simulations that enable students to fully appreciate how ‘the invisible hand’ can mirror the economic theory that is learnt in class. The latter explores how the UK and global economies interact in terms achieving economic objectives such as growth, stable prices, balance of payments equilibrium and full employment. At the end of Year 12, following the study of development economics, students give presentations of a low-income country of their choice in preparation for Papers 2 and 3 in the final examinations.

The department supports the student-run Economics Society that typically takes the form of student presentations, games, role plays and outside speakers. This facilitates students seeing the theory of economics acted out in a real-world scenario that enlightens them regarding potential careers drawing on their study of A level Economics. It also runs the Instagram account crgs_economics that has over 1200 followers.

 

Department Team

Mr N. Stephen - Head of Department

Mr L. Nicotra - Teacher of Economics

 

Mr Stephen is Head of the Economics Department and also Head of Year 13.  He can be found in his teaching room (GB6), the Economics Office (GB5) or the Heads of Years 12 and 13s office (GB Interview room).

Mr Stephen is especially interested in how the UK interacts with the global economy. He also has a keen interest in econometrics - the way in which mathematical modelling is applied to economics, which he developed at Warwick University.

He supports a number of extra-curricular clubs, such as Economics Society and Model United Nations, and is also Year 9 rugby coach. Passionate about his homeland, he represented Wales while a Sixth Form student himself in public speaking. Typically, he is equally enthusiastic about rugby (as one would expect) even though the demise of the Welsh rugby team has seen this enthusiasm decline somewhat recently!

He runs the departmental Instagram feed: @crgs_economics, which you should all follow!

 

Mr Nicotra teaches Economics and is a Year 12 form tutor. He can be found in his teaching room GB7. 

He has a deep passion for the way domestic and international political considerations shape the economic policies of countries, a focus he developed while studying Political Economy at the University of Essex. He first became interested in economics during the Great Recession (2007–2009) and was particularly engaged with the Sovereign Debt Crisis that affected several Eurozone countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain). He has since followed major debates such as the economic impact of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, and the rise of China as a key global trading power and its effects on Western economies. He also enjoys exploring finance, combining his academic interests with practical experience through investing in the stock market.

Outside of economics, Mr Nicotra enjoys keeping fit, reading science fiction, photographing urban landscapes, and exploring subjects such as astrophysics, history, geopolitics, and many others.

 

Curriculum at a glance

Key Stage 5

The Economics A level follows the Edexcel course. There are four themes across both A level years, with two in each year, although the themes interrelate and a key aspect of the course is developing the students’ ability to connect concepts across the themes.

In the first year there are two themes, one microeconomic, ‘Introduction to markets and market failure’ and the other macroeconomic, ‘The UK economy - performance and policies.’ The former theme introduces students to what is considered as an economic problem and the practices of economists. In particular this theme focusses on how markets work, supply and demand, and market failure. Finally, this theme will also cover potential government intervention into failing markets. The macroeconomic theme in the first year of A level explores the dominant measures of economic performance, as well as policies used in the UK to foster students’ abilities to analyse economic policy decisions and predict outcomes.

In the second year of A level, theme three develops theme one, and takes business economics as its focus: ‘Business behaviour and the labour market’. This theme investigates, for example, market competition between firms, growth and the rationale behind mergers and demergers. The final theme (theme four), ‘A global perspective’ is the second macroeconomic theme and focusses on globalisation, its impact and the financial sector in a global context.

There are three examination papers attached to this course. Paper 1 is the microeconomic paper and assesses themes one and three. Paper 2 is the macroeconomic paper and assessed themes two and four. Paper 3 combines all four themes.

 

Enrichment and Support

Economics Resources

Economics is a fascinating subject in part because it is ever-changing. However, this presents a problem when providing resources for economics students. Textbooks are invariably out of date in some way by the time they are published! We therefore ensure that you are provided with up to date printed and electronic resources.

As well as your printed economics workbooks, you will find many resources on students shared resources, including examples of past exam papers, mark schemes, and much more.  Many useful resources can also be found at the following web sites:

 

1. Reading, News & Blogs

A Quality Newspaper – Reading the Financial Times (Free for CRGS students), The Economist (Look out for their student subscription offers), The Guardian, or The Times helps you see how economic theory applies in the real world. Focus especially on the business, economics, and politics sections.

VoxEU (CEPR Policy Portal) – Short, accessible summaries of cutting-edge economic research from leading academics. (voxeu.org)

Project Syndicate – Economics – Commentaries by Nobel laureates and leading thinkers such as Joseph Stiglitz and Dani Rodrik. (project-syndicate.org/section/economics)

Bruegel Blog – Policy-relevant analysis from one of Europe’s leading economics think tanks. (bruegel.org)

The IMF Blog – Accessible insights into the global economy, with an excellent “Chart of the Week.” (blogs.imf.org)

LSE Blogs – Academic insights on economics, politics, and policy in both UK and global contexts. (blogs.lse.ac.uk)

 

2. A level Economics Resources

Tutor2u Economics – Articles, case studies, and revision support directly linked to the A-Level syllabus. (tutor2u.net/economics)

EconplusDal (YouTube) – Outstanding video lessons and tutorials designed for A-Level Economics students. Perfect for revision and especially helpful if you ever miss a lesson. (youtube.com/@econplusdal)

Marginal Revolution University (MRU) – engaging, high-quality video lectures by Tyler Cowen & Alex Tabarrok. Linked to the well-known blog Marginal Revolution. (mru.org)

Economics Help – Extensive learning resources and a blog by Tejvan Pettinger, covering theory, application, and current events. (economicshelp.org)

 

3. Talks, Videos & Podcasts

TED Talks on Economics – Inspiring short talks from leading thinkers. Try:

• Kate Raworth on Doughnut Economics
• Mariana Mazzucato on Value and the Role of Government
• Nick Hanauer on Economic Inequality

Planet Money & The Indicator (NPR) – Planet Money explains big economic ideas through rich storytelling (20–30 minutes per episode), while The Indicator offers short, sharp insights into current events and data (8–10 minutes).

New Books in Economics – Interviews with authors about their latest books, offering insights into new ideas and research.

Conversations with Tyler – Economist Tyler Cowen interviews experts across economics, politics, and culture, often uncovering fresh perspectives on key issues.

Macro Musings (David Beckworth) – In-depth interviews with leading economists on monetary policy, research, and current events.

The Sound of Economics (Bruegel) – Policy-focused podcast from one of Europe’s leading think tanks.

VoxTalks Economics (CEPR) – Conversations with economists about their latest research, presented in an accessible way.