Economics and Business

The Department offers Economics and Business at A-level, and students may choose either as part of their portfolio of subjects. A specialist teacher is responsible for teaching both subjects. Today, Economics and Business are big news, with regular media coverage. We aim to give our students the knowledge and skills to understand the working of the economy and business organisations and have fun doing it!  

Students study the AQA specification for both subjects and have the opportunity for out-of-classroom learning with competitions such as Tycoon, a stock market challenge and BASE, the accountancy programme. 

Aims of Business

To develop a critical understanding of organisations, the context in which they operate, the markets they serve and the process of adding value.
To develop key skills through an investigative, problem solving approach, which requires analysis and evaluation of business scenarios.

Aims of Economics

To develop an understanding of economic concepts and theories through a critical consideration of current economic issues, problems and institutions that affect everyday life
To encourage students to apply economic concepts and theories in a range of contexts and to appreciate their value and limitations in explaining real-world phenomena.

Tycoon

The main emphasis of this national competition will be to develop enterprising skills amongst year 12 students. Each team will write a business plan, receive a small business loan then trade and hopefully make a profit. It will promote internal competition amongst school teams, but there is also the chance to win a cash prize of £1,000 if a business is judged to be the best in the country. Students will gain hands-on experience of costing, branding, team-working, planning, coordinating and running a business. Queen’s has a history of success in competitions such as Young Enterprise and we hope to continue this.