A-Level Economics

A Level Economics aims to develop your appreciation for the contribution which economic factors make to the wider social environment, particularly how individuals, households and firms make rational, and sometimes irrational, decisions when faced with choices concerning scarce resources.

You will be encouraged to challenge your view of the world around you as you develop into a critical thinker.

Fascinating concepts will be explored, including opportunity cost, diminishing marginal returns, supply and demand, choice, externalities, multiplier effect, allocative efficiency and many others.

The learning material of A Level Economics is split into micro-economics and macro-economics. Micro-economics focuses on the operations of markets and market failure whilst macro-economics focuses on national and international economies. In Year 1, you will develop a sound grounding of both micro- and macro-economics. In Year 2, you will build on these topic areas with greater sophistication and further application to real-life scenarios. The final examination is taken at the end of Year 2 in the form of three written papers.

A level Economics is a two-year linear course. The learning material is split into micro-economics and macro-economics. Micro-economics focus on the operations of markets and market failure whilst macro-economics focus on national and international economy. Year one focuses on developing a sound grounding of both micro and macro-economics and Year two builds on many of these topic areas with much more sophistication and application to real-life scenarios. The final examination is taken at the end of Year two in the form of three written papers. The assessments take a holistic approach which means any of the three examination papers can assess you on any part of the course. There is no coursework completion.

External Assessment – There are 3 external examinations written at the end of Year 13. Each of these is a 2 hour written paper, weighted equally in deciding your final grade. Below is a summary of the assessment methods used:

Paper 1, 2 hours – Markets and market failure – Data response and essay questions

Paper 2, 2 hours – National and international economy – Data response and essay questions

Paper 3, 2 hours – Economic principles and issues – Multiple choice, case study, short answer questions and essay questions

Internal Assessment – You will be internally assessed throughout your course in a variety of ways including formal assessments that allow us to check your progress and offer tailored support to help you progress.

Students must have achieved at least five strong passes (to at least Grade 5) at GCSE level, including English Language and Maths.

The majority of scholars who study A Level Economics go on to study Economics, Business and Finance, or politics-related degrees at university.

If you decide not to go to university, you could go on to an advanced apprenticeship programme or gain employment in marketing, finance, human resources, administration, or politics.