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It’s been a bold and inspiring year in Economics, marked by fearless thinking, spirited debate and a commitment to pushing beyond the textbook.
Our focus this year has been developing fearless economists: students who are not only able to grasp the theories but are also willing to question assumptions, explore new ideas, and think critically about real-world economic problems. One of the ways we’ve encouraged this is through a weekly “Indy Hour” challenge: an hour of independent work beyond the curriculum, including reading books, listening to podcasts, watching lectures, and engaging with economic issues in the news.
Our first standout moment of the year was when Economics students joined the Geography Department to attend a talk at St Aloysius’ College by Professor Danny Dorling, who spoke about his book Seven Children and the Future of the UK. The book looks at the long-term social and economic challenges facing the country – things like inequality, productivity, demographics – and how these will shape the next generation. Back at the Economics Society, students led their own discussion on the book’s themes and debated how policy might help tackle some of the issues raised.
Our fearless economists have entered a number of competitions this year. Several Year 12s submitted essays to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Next Generation Economics Competition, exploring the impact of tariffs on global trade. Students are currently working on their entries for the Royal Economic Society’s Young Economist of the Year Essay Competition. We are particularly proud of students who have also been heading off to LSE public lectures in their own time – genuinely impressive initiative and curiosity.
We were thrilled to take part in the GAIN (Girls Are Investors) Challenge again this year. Two brilliant teams completed training sessions on how to value a stock, then produced a full research report, video pitch, and a recommendation. One team analysed Sainsbury’s and recommended to buy – and since 4th April, Sainsbury’s share price has gone up by around 20.9%. The other team pitched Ocado and advised to sell – the stock has since dropped by roughly 10.9%. Safe to say I’m kicking myself for not following their advice – if I’d invested when they told me to, I’d be writing this from a beach somewhere!
Two of our students, Lila S and Millie L, applied to attend the Goldman Sachs Pre-University Women’s Insight Day and were delighted to receive an invitation. They had the chance to hear from speakers across the firm, take part in a trading simulation using the ‘Re-trader’ app, and speak to employees over lunch about their careers, routes into finance, and how to navigate the sector as a woman. A fantastic opportunity – and great to see Channing students making the most of it.
Back at school, the Economics Society teamed up with the Politics Society to watch the Chancellor’s Spring Statement live. Budget Bingo cards at the ready – marking off economic buzzwords as they appeared. This inspired the inaugural Channing Chancellor Challenge, a new internal competition in which students devise innovative policy proposals to tackle an economic issue of their choice. The winner receives the coveted red budget box (which stores their proposal), signs their name on the back, and passes it on to the next Channing Chancellor after the next Mark Reading. This tradition will, no doubt, form a bank of powerful ideas for when a Channing student eventually becomes actual Chancellor of the Exchequer. We congratulate Ashani for her proposal to reduce NHS overuse through education campaigns; Annie for her plan to reduce inequality by funding free higher education via progressive taxation; and our very first Channing Chancellor, Tanvee, whose proposal to offer AI Tax Credits to firms aimed to drive productivity while protecting jobs.
Another standout event was a visit from Lisa Cristie, former Senior Tax Policy Advisor at HM Treasury, who gave a brilliant talk called Inside the Treasury to Channing and St Aloysius students. Lisa gave some personal reflections on working at HM Treasury, including taking the students through the role of the civil service, what it’s like working with new governments, and how Budgets and Spending Reviews are developed and delivered. Lisa then answered some fantastic questions from students.