St Edward's A Level Guide 2026

ECONOMICS

Edexcel

Economics offers pupils a brand new perspective on the world around them. The questions asked throughout the course help pupils explore their day-to-day lives and the wider world in a new light. Why are prices rising so quickly? What factors determine people’s future income? Why are some people and countries rich, and others poor? The A Level course is a superb introduction to the subject, overviewing many of the topics that an undergraduate degree covers in more detail. The course enables pupils to develop a wide range of skills, with analytical and mathematical skills featuring strongly alongside extended essay writing. Course structure Microeconomics (Themes 1 and 3): In the microeconomics side of the course, pupils examine the basic decision-making framework of individuals and businesses, and learn how the interactions of these decisions lead to the allocation of resources and the setting of prices around the economy. The course explores the extent to which this free market system works, why it can go disastrously wrong, and the ways in which governments can attempt to fix it. Pupils discuss recent real-world examples and engage with recent developments in economic theory. Macroeconomics (Themes 2 and 4): In macroeconomics, pupils learn how the very same market systems covered in microeconomics lead to big-picture changes that affect everyone: economic growth, inflation rates, unemployment. The course explores the government’s role in promoting key macroeconomic objectives, and the role of financial markets in determining economic outcomes, and the significance of the wider international economy, including asking crucial questions about the drivers of economic development and poverty. Assessment structure

COMPONENT

OVERVIEW

ASSESSMENT

Paper 1 – Microeconomics

• 25 marks of short-answer technical questions • 50 marks of short-form essays with extracts • One 25-mark essay

•

35% of final grade

• 100 marks • 2 hr

Paper 2 – Macroeconomics Paper 3 – whole course

• 50 marks of short-form essays with extracts • Two 25-mark essays

• 30% of final grade • 100 marks, 2 hr

Beyond the course The economics department at Teddies also affords lots of opportunities for pupils to engage in economics outside the classroom, with a rich set of learning opportunities, including clinics to secure learning, a vibrant Economics Society, opportunities to write and present economics to other pupils, and academic reading groups. A high percentage of pupils go on to study Economics at university. One-to-one support for further research, reading, and university applications is offered by our Economics Oxford Fellow.

ST EDWARD’S OXFORD

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