In January, our Student Champions, BSc Economics with Finance students Lucy and Moe, visited Eckington School to deliver three Discover Economics workshops to their Year 12 Business, Geography and Mathematics classes. Our department works with Discover Economics, a campaign funded by the Royal Economic Society, to improve representation in economics. As a partner, we offer taster sessions that aim to transform perceptions of economics among students, particularly those attending schools which don't provide it as a subject.
The Student Champions presented topics such as the relationship between GDP and happiness, followed by other more general information that they believed would help rectify some of the misconceptions about economics. The sessions were well received by the teachers and students, many of whom had no previous knowledge of this subject. After the sessions, many students said they would consider studying economics at a degree level. One teacher also expressed that the school should consider adding economics to their A-level curriculum.
The Department of Economics delivered a Discover Economics workshop to Eckington School last year, which was very well received, and the school would like to book more sessions to cover more of their current A-level classes.
This is the second year of our partnership with Discover Economics, we are looking forward to visiting more state schools in and around Sheffield, to broaden the appeal of economics to potential students.