Sixth Form Economics pupils recently travelled to London, in order to visit the Adam Smith Institute for a lecture on free market economics, and then the Bank of England for a discussion about monetary policy. The trip was arranged by Head of Economics Mr Darius Bluck to aid the pupils’ understanding of the subject, and allow them to see theories in the real world. Thank you to Mr Bluck for following report:
‘25 Year 13 students visited London by public transport during rush hour – this was to start the learning early as students learnt about infrastructure in London and how resources are nearing full capacity. We then visited the Adam Smith Institute for a talk on free market economics and the problems with governments over regulating. This led to an interesting Q and A session, where Sam Wisely articulately questioned the speaker - no agreement was formed! This was set up by old Viking Oliver Riley who has a year-long internship with the Adam Smith Institute before going to Cambridge University.
The students then visited the Sky Garden where they were able to have a short break and explore London’s constantly changing skyline. The number of cranes hints at a period of economic recovery and a shift out in the potential capacity of the city. The students finished with a trip to the Bank of England for a talk on monetary policy from a leading expert. The students were able to lift a bar of gold (some unsuccessfully) in the museum and attempt to control inflation.
The trip was informative and it is always a nice change of pace to being in a classroom. Economics is a difficult subject to learn, especially as pupils haven’t had the experience of the subject before Sixth Form. The pupils all behaved really well, getting involved with the discussions and engaging well with the topics.’
