GCSE Economics

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What is economics?

“Economics is how people's

demands for things they want are

met.”

It is about scarce resources – such

as oil, sporting or singing talent!

There are three questions in

Economics that we try to answer:

I want a new iPad!

Why are they so expensive?

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What will I study?

Micro and Macro (little and big economics)

Micro = about people – what they spend and save, how things are made and priced

Macro = about countries and governments

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What kind of questions do we ask in Economics?

• What are the social ‘costs’ of over consuming alcohol? How can governments help?

• What are the causes and consequences of growth, unemployment and inflation?

• What determines the trading success of the UK? How are exchange rates determined?

• Is globalisation a gift or a curse?

• What are the risks of long term poverty?

 

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In year 10, you learn about Personal Economics:

Money: why does it have value, spending, saving and managing your money.

Work: why do we work, getting paid and what happens if we are out of work

The Economy: why do we trade, why we have different currencies, making choices as a consumer

 

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In Year 11, you will investigate how the government tries (and sometimes fails!) to manage the economy:

Markets and the Economy: the role of consumers, suppliers, the government and central banks

The European Union: a hot topic! The benefits of a single market, the difficulties of the Euro

Current Economic Issues: globalization, poverty, immigration, environmental issues, China and more!

 

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Assessment

Two exams at the end of year 11- 1hr 15 minutes each

Both are worth 50% of your final grade

The questions are a mix of short answer and longer written structured questions, using scenarios and statistics from the real world.

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What skills will I learn?

•Written

•Analytical and problem solving

•Numerical

•Presentation

•Research

•Communication

•Team working

•Political Awareness

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What jobs do people do with Economics?

Source: Alumni Survey

•Lawyer

•Investment manager

•Banker

•Politician

•Journalist

•Accountant

•Charity work

•International

organisations

These jobs are some of the best paid jobs in the UK!

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What were we doing last week in our lessons?Year 10

‘Egg Shortages in California’

• New laws allocating more room to each egg laying chicken

• Implications on the supply of eggs?

• What happens to the price of eggs in California? In the rest of the US?

Year 11

‘Food prices, Fuel prices & Inflation’

• What has been happening to food prices in the UK?

• And fuel prices?

• What is the current rate of inflation and why the change?

• Why don’t we want deflation?

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AS Results 2014

• 85.2% A* - C

A2 Results 2014

• 95.7% A*- C

Exam Results

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Questions?