Economics students + national competition = a great day out!
13/01/2012
Members of the team who reoresented the College in the BoE Challenge
On Wednesday 30 November an intrepid team of four A Level Economics students from the Haywards Heath campus took part in the Southern heat of the twelfth annual Target Two Point Zero competition, which is the national monetary policy competition for schools and colleges, run by the Bank of England and The Times Interest Rate Challenge. The competition took place at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Crawley, and saw teams of sixth form students from across Sussex, Surrey and Kent battle it out to represent the South at the national final, held at the Bank of England in March 2012.
The Central Sussex College team comprised: Matthew Hollis; Annabel Cowderoy; Cameron Wilding and Nick Whettom, who are all 17. Prior to the competition, they had been asked as a group to analyse UK and global economic data and predict their possible impact on inflation and the economic outlook for the UK - just as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee does each month. They then had to decide if current monetary policy is appropriate or needs to be adjusted to meet the 2.0% inflation target set by the Government.
The other colleges competing in the heat were: Hurstpierpoint College; Battle Abbey School; The College of Richard Collyer, Horsham; The Skinners' School, Tunbridge Wells; Varndean College, Brighton; Walthamstow Hall, Sevenoaks; and Brighton College.
On the day, a team from each College presented their ideas to a panel of Bank of England judges, explaining their decisions then justifying them through answers to questions from the panel. The Central Sussex College team decided to leave the rate of interest at 0.5% and the level of asset purchases (quantitative easing) at £275bn as agreed by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on 10 November 2011.
The team from Brighton College were selected as winners, with Walthamstow Hall chosen as runner up. But all participants came away with a practical understanding of the British economy and how inflation is influenced by monetary policy.
Team member Matthew Hollis said: "It was a fulfilling experience which I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in Economics." Teammate Cameron Wilding added: "The day helped improve our presentation skills as well as giving a greater insight into monetary policy" and Annabel Cowderoy said: "This opportunity has not only given us the chance to improve our skills in team work, giving presentations, research and interpretation of data, but also has let us develop our understanding of how the Monetary Policy Committee works and assess our current economic situation."
