Monday 10 February 2020 Aspiring economists from four Yorkshire schools convened at The Grammar School at Leeds (GSAL) last week to give their take on the state of the UK and global economy. The four teams of Y13 students were taking part in a regional competition based on the former Bank of England Target 2.0 national competition. Their challenge was to set monetary policy for the UK, handling the most up-to-date national and global economic data to inform their decision on an appropriate interest rate for the country. Assuming the role of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, each team in turn presented their assessment of current conditions and gave their recommendations for changing or maintaining interest rates. They were aiming to impress a panel of three judges, Andy Hebden (chair), a deputy regional agent for the Bank, and economics teachers David Exley and Phil Hensman. The judges awarded first prize to Birkdale School, Sheffield. Three other teams gave Birkdale a run for their money, with GSAL being declared runner up, closely followed by Greenhead College, Huddersfield, and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield. Andy Hebden said: “We were impressed by the standard of all the presentations today. It’s great to see students engaging with economics and particularly with the work of the Bank of England and the complex issues surrounding policy decisions. They demonstrated a huge amount of research and great teamwork, and delivered really polished presentations and interesting policy decisions. “I enjoyed being part of the Bank’s national Target 2.0 competition for many years, so I’m very pleased that these schools in Yorkshire continue to provide this opportunity for their economics students.” Chris Law, teacher of economics at GSAL who organised the event, said: “Target 2.0 was as good a competition for sixth form economists as has ever existed, so we are delighted that the schools involved today are keeping the format alive.” Pictured with chair of the judges Andy Hebden are GSAL team Cameron, Maia, Nico and Sam. General Senior School Sixth Form News Academic
