Kings Bournemouth
Go
Kings Brighton
Go
Kings London
Go
Kings Oxford
Go
Kings Bournemouth
Go
Kings Brighton
Go
Kings London
Go
Kings Oxford
Go
Apply
Contact
Chat

A-level Economics factsheet

Overview

Economics is not simply all about numbers. It is the study of the world around us from a social, financial and cultural perspective, gaining an understanding of economic theories and interrelationships between macro and micro economic issues. You will develop your analytical, numeric, communication, problem solving skills and cultural awareness.

Key Facts

Start Dates:

  • 5 September 2022
  • 3 January 2023

Colleges:

  • Bournemouth
  • Brighton
  • London
  • Oxford

Entry level:

  • Academic: Completed 10 years of schooling (GCSE or equivalent)
  • English: IELTS 5.5 or equivalent

Minimum age:

  • 16

Length:

  • 2 Academic Years (3 terms)
  • We also offer a One-Year A-level in Economics and an entry from Year 12.

Lessons:

  • Average 7 hours per week for each A-level subject (plus homework and private study)

Class size:

  • 4-10

Learning outcomes

  • Gain UK national university entrance qualification
  • Raise English to university level
  • Develop study skills required at degree level
  • Develop specialist subject expertise

Course content and structure

The following syllabus outline is based on AQA exam board content. Please note that exam boards may vary from college to college.

Year 1

Economics as a social science

  • Positive and normative statements, plus value judgements
  • Demand for a product
  • Factors that determine the supply of a product
  • Relationships between markets and how this applies in the real world
  • Production and productivity
  • Economies and diseconomies of scale

The meanings and calculation of different types of costs and revenue

  • Market structure and differing objectives
  • The price mechanism
  • How and why market failure occurs
  • How and why governments intervene in markets
  • Objectives and indicators used to measure economic performance
  • How index numbers are calculated and used
  • The circular flow of income, injections and withdrawals
  • AD/AS analysis

Aggregate demand and supply

  • Fluctuations in economic activity and economic growth
  • Unemployment: meaning and causes
  • Inflation: meaning and causes
  • Conflicts between macroeconomic policy objectives
  • Monetary policy, its effects, and the role of the Bank of England
  • Fiscal policy and its effects
  • The meaning and effects of a variety of supply-side policies

Year 2

The possible relationships between inputs and output

  • Different costs and revenues, and how they can be affected by technological change
  • The conduct and performance of firms
  • Influences on the demand and supply of labour
  • Wage rates and levels of employment
  • Why income and wealth are unequally distributed

Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems

  • Inheritance
  • Populations
  • Evolution and speciation
  • Populations in Ecosystems

The advantages and disadvantages of the price mechanism

  • How and why governments intervene in markets
  • The uses and limitations of national income data
  • The multiplier and an alternative view of the AS curve
  • The causes and effects of economic growth and unemployment
  • The Quantity Theory of Money
  • Monetary policy
  • Different types of tax and government spending
  • The variety of supply-side measures and how they impact on the economy

The meaning and causes of globalisation

  • How and why countries trade
  • The role of the WTO
  • The Single European Market
  • The composition of the balance of payments and the significance of imbalance
  • The characteristics of less-developed countries

Typical A-level subject combinations with Biology

Sample enrichment activities

  • Business Enterprise
  • Bank of England visit
  • Coca Cola factory tour
  • BMW factory visit

Sample academic calendar (2021-2022)

Year 1

Sept

6th: term starts
Student induction

Oct

18th – 22nd: half term
Progress tests

Nov

University fairs and talks

Dec

10th: term ends
End of term exams

Jan

3rd: term starts

Feb

10th-11th: half term
Progress tests
University fairs

Mar

End of term exams
18th: term ends

Apr

4th: term starts

May

Progress tests

June

Exams
10th: term ends

Year 2

Sept

5th: term starts

Oct

17th – 21st: half term
15th October: UCAS deadline (Medicine)
Progress tests

Nov

  • University fairs and talks

Dec

9th: term ends
End of term exams

    Jan

    2nd: term starts
    15th January: UCAS deadline (other subjects)

    Feb

    9th – 10th: half term
    Progress tests

    Mar

    17th: term ends
    Mock exams

    Apr

    3rd: term starts
    Progress tests

    May

    Final exams

    June

    9th June: term ends

    Recommended reading

    Below is a list of books which may help you prepare for your studies prior to arrival. Please note that additional books, and online resources such as websites and journals will be shared once you begin your course.

    • Anderton, A. (2008). Economics 5th ed. for AQA. Causeway
    • Lawrence, J. et al. (2008). AQA Economics AS. Nelson Thornes..
    • Lawrence, J. et al. (2009). AQA Economics A2. Nelson Thornes
    • Powell, R. (2013). AQA Economics AS 2nd ed. Phillip Allan

    Degree progression

    A-level Economics opens up many options for students at university, and there are many courses available with permutations of Business/Management/Administration/ Economics/Accounting and Finance.

    Economics also stands up as a strong social science for students who wish to pursue this route and is ideally coupled with the human geography element and the statistics element of mathematics.

      Sample alumni progression

      Giorgi Abalaki

      • Economics/Geography/Maths
      • University of York (Economics)

      Artur Begyan

      • Economics/Maths/Further Maths
      • University of Warwick (Economics)

      Jinhao Jiang

      • Economics/Maths/Physics
      • Durham University (Accounting and Finance)

      Ya Gan

      • Economics/Geography/Maths
      • LSE (Government with Economics)

      Aigerim Kossymova

      • Economics/Maths/Further Maths
      • University of Warwick (Economic Studies and Global Sustainable Development)

      Yueqi Li

      • Economics/Maths/Further Maths/Geography
      • UCL (Maths with Economics)

      Kan Xu

      • Economics/Geography/Maths 
      • UCL (Mathematics with Modern Languages)

      Gaochuan Zhang

      • Economics/Geography/Maths
      • Durham University (Marketing)
      © Kings Education 2022

      Thank you for your enquiry.
      We'll be in touch soon.
      The Kings Admissions Team

      Factfiles
      Factfiles
      Video
      Video
      Photos
      Photos
      VR Tours
      VR Tours
      • Locations here
      • Learning here
      • Popular searches here

      Contact Us

      ENQUIRY FORM

      More ways to get in touch

      Full contact list

      Enquiry form

      Back to Contact Us page
      Are you
      select
      a student
      not a student
      First name

      We need your first name to identify you and communicate with you.

      Read our full Privacy notice

      Last name

      We need your last name to identify you and communicate with you.

      Read our full Privacy notice

      Email

      We need your email address to identify you and communicate with you.

      Read our full Privacy notice

      Phone

      We need your phone number to identify you and communicate with you.

      Read our full Privacy notice

      Preferred way of communication
      Email
      Email
      Phone
      Nationality
      Select
      Afghani (AFG )
      Afghanistan (AFG )
      Africaans (AFR )
      Albanian (ALB )
      Algerian (ALG )
      American (USA )
      Amharic (AMH )
      Angolan (AGO )
      Antigua & Barbuda (AAB )
      Arabic (Do not use) (ARA )
      Argentinian (ARG )
      Armenian (ARM )
      Australian (AST )
      Austrian (AUS )
      Azerbaijani (AZE )
      Bahamian (BHS )
      Bahraini (BAH )
      Belgian (BEL )
      Belizean (BLZ )
      Belorusian (BLR )
      Bengali (BEN )
      Benin (BEN )
      Bissau-Guinean (GUB )
      Bolivian (BOL )
      Bosnia & Herzegovina (BOS )
      Botswana (BOT )
      Brazilian (BRA )
      British (BRI )
      Brunei (BRU )
      Bulgarian (BUL )
      Burkinabe (BFA )
      Burmese (BUR )
      Cambodian (CAM )
      Cameroonian (CMR )
      Canadian (CAN )
      Cape Verdean (CPV )
      Catalan (CAT )
      Chadian (CHA )
      Chilean (CHL )
      Chinese (CHI )
      Colombian (COL )
      Congolese (CON )
      Costa Rican (COS )
      Croatian (CRO )
      Cuban (CUB )
      Cypriot (CYP )
      Czech (CZE )
      Danish (DEN )
      Domenican (DM )
      Dominican (DOM )
      Dutch (DUT )
      Dzongkha (DZO )
      Ecuadorian (ECU )
      Egyptian (EGY )
      Emirati (UAE )
      Equitoguinean (EGN )
      Eritrean (ERI )
      Estonian (EST )
      Ethiopian (ETH )
      Faroese (FRO )
      Farsi (FAR )
      Fijian (FJI )
      Filipino (PHI )
      Finnish (FIN )
      French (FRA )
      Gabonese (GAB )
      Gambian (GAM )
      Georgian (GEO )
      German (GER )
      Ghanaian (GHA )
      Greek (GRE )
      Grenadian (GRD )
      Guatemalan (GUT )
      Guinean (GUI )
      Hatian (HTI )
      Hebrew (HEB )
      Honduran (HOD )
      Hungarian (HUN )
      I-Kiribati (KIR )
      Icelandic (ICE )
      Indian (IDA )
      Indonesian (IND )
      Inuit (INU )
      Iranian (IRA )
      Iraqi (IRA )
      Irish (IRL )
      Israeli (ISR )
      Italian (ITA )
      Ivorian (IVO )
      Japanese (JAP )
      Jordanian (JOR )
      Kazakh (KAZ )
      Kenyain (KEN )
      Khmer (KHM )
      Kirgiz (KGZ )
      Korean (KOR )
      Kosovo (KOS )
      Kuwaiti (KUW )
      Kyrgyzstani (KYR )
      Lao (LAO )
      Latvian (LAT )
      Lebanese (LEB )
      Lesotho (LSO )
      Libyan (LIB )
      Liechtenstein (LIE )
      Lithuanian (LIT )
      Luxembourgish (LUX )
      Macedonian (MAC )
      Madagascain (MAD )
      Malawi (MLA )
      Malaysian (MAL )
      Malian (MLI )
      Maltese (MLT )
      Mauritanian (MAU )
      Mauritian (MAU )
      Melanesian (SLB )
      Mexican (MEX )
      Monegasque (MCO )
      Mongolian (MON )
      Montenegrin (MNE )
      Moroccan (MOR )
      Mosotho (LSO )
      Mozambique (MOZ )
      Namibian (NAM )
      Nauruan (NRU )
      Nepali (NEP )
      New Zealander (NZL )
      Nicaraguan (NIC )
      Nigerian (NGR )
      Niuean (NIU )
      Norwegian (NOR )
      Omani (OMA )
      Pakistani (PAK )
      Palestinian (PAL )
      Panamanian (PAN )
      Paraguayan (PAR )
      Peruvian (PER )
      Polish (POL )
      Portuguese (POR )
      Qatari (QAT )
      Replubica Democratica De Timor (RTL )
      Romanian (ROM )
      Russian (RUS )
      Rwandan (RWA )
      Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN )
      Salvadorian (SLV )
      Sammarinese (SMR )
      Samoan (WSM )
      Saudi Arabian (SAU )
      Senegalese (SEN )
      Serbian (SRB )
      Sesotho (LSO )
      Seychellois (SEY )
      Sierra Leone (SIE )
      Singaporean (SGP )
      Slovak (SLO )
      Slovenian (SLN )
      Somali (SOM )
      South African (SAF )
      Spanish (SPA )
      Sri Lankan (SRI )
      Sudanese (SUD )
      Swahili (SWA )
      Swaziland (SWZ )
      Swedish (SWE )
      Swiss (SWI )
      Swiss-German (do not use) (CHD )
      Syrian (SYR )
      Taiwanese (TAI )
      Tajik (TJK )
      Tanzanian (TAN )
      Thai (THA )
      Tibetan (TIB )
      Togolese (TOG )
      Tokelauan (TKL )
      Tongan (TON )
      Trinidad&Tobago (TRT )
      Tunisian (TUN )
      Turkish (TUR )
      Turkmen (TKM )
      Turlish Cypriot (TRNC )
      Tuvaluan (TUV )
      Ugandian (UGA )
      Ukrainian (URU )
      Urdu (PAK )
      Uruguayan (URY )
      Uzbek (UZB )
      Vanuatu (VUT )
      Venezuelan (VEN )
      Vietnamese (VET )
      Yemeni (YEM )
      Yugoslavian (YUG )
      Zambian (ZAM )
      Zimbabwe (ZIM )

      We need your nationality to provide appropriate information and assistance for you.

      Read our full Privacy notice

      Preferred location
      Select
      Kings Bournemouth
      Kings Brighton
      Kings London
      Kings Oxford
      Course of interest
      Select
      Your questions
      I would like to receive information from Kings
      Yes
      No

      Fields marked with * are mandatory.