What you might gain from the Challenge
understanding the economy
resource material
key/core skills
prizes
publicity
The Challenge offers a number of benefits to students, teachers,
schools and colleges.
understanding the economy 
The Challenge provides students with the opportunity to deepen
their understanding of the economy and the way in which interest
decisions affect economic growth and inflation. It will allow
students to apply economic concepts and principles to the analysis
of developments in the real economy and to appreciate the interrelationships
between the different topics that they cover in their course
in a practical and lively way. It will also help them to develop
their critical thinking and other skills. Accepting the Challenge
will bring students into direct contact with working economists.
resource material
The resource material should be useful for anyone teaching
or taking an AS, A level, Higher, Advanced Higher, Vocational
A level or equivalent course in economics or business. The wealth
of macroeconomic information and carefully selected, up-to-date
data make the resource material highly relevant to many of the
units and modules in the existing and the new post-16 courses.
In particular, it will be relevant to those relating to government
policy, macroeconomics, the national and international economy,
the business environment and the operation of markets.
key/core skills
Key/core skills are an important part of post-16 education.
This section gives examples of how the Challenge could help
teachers to deliver key/core skills and how it might be used
by students to provide evidence of these skills.
application of number/numeracy
During the Challenge, students will handle large amounts of
data. The Challenge will give students the opportunity to:
gather and interpret numerical information from different sources;
carry out calculations;
present findings and explain results.
information technology
IT will be a useful tool for anyone accepting the Challenge,
which will give students the opportunity to:
use different IT sources to search for and select information;
develop information and lines of enquiry, including using spreadsheets;
present and edit information, including text, numbers and images.
communication skills
The Challenge is about gaining understanding and gathering and
communicating information, both to other members of the team
and to the judges. It will give students the opportunity to:
read and summarise information;
contribute to discussions;
make a presentation;
write documents, such as visual aids for the presentation or
perhaps a report on the Challenge for their school or college
or a press release for the local media.
problem solving
The Challenge will give students the opportunity to:
explore problems and different ways of solving them, and select
the appropriate solution;
plan and implement the chosen solution;
ensure the problem has been solved and review the approach.
working with others
The Challenge is a team activity which will give students the
opportunity to:
plan work as part of a group, including agreeing objectives,
responsibilities and working arrangements;
establish and maintain co-operative working relationships;
review work and agree ways of improving future collaborative
work.
improving own learning and performance
By being clear about what they want to achieve from undertaking
the Challenge, and by planning the work round their other commitments,
students will have the opportunity to show that they can:
agree personal targets such as improving confidence, team work,
critical thinking, presentation or IT skills, and plan how these
will be met;
use the plan, seeking feedback and support from others;
review progress and present evidence of achievements.
prizes
national final
For the six teams in the national final there will an expenses-paid
trip to the Bank of England in London, including a programme
of events and an opportunity to meet the Governor and other
members of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The winning team will receive the Bank of England and The Times Interest
Rate Challenge trophy. The trophy and prizes will be presented
by Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank.
The winning teams will be awarded prizes for their schools
or colleges as follows:
| National champions |
- £10,000 |
| National runners-up |
- £5,000 |
| National finalists- third place |
- £2,000 |
| Other national finalists |
- £1,000 |
There will also be non-monetary prizes and certificates for
all the national finalists and their teachers.
area finals
The winning team of each of the six area finals will receive
a trophy for their school or college. The runner-up in each
area final will receive £650 for their school or college
and the team in third place will receive £350. There will
be small non-monetary prizes and certificates for all the area
finalists and their teachers.
regional heats
All team members and teachers that participate in the competition
will receive a small gift and a certificate of participation.
publicity
The Challenge is being run in conjunction with The Times,
which will provide national coverage of the various stages of
the competition. Local and regional media will also be encouraged
to take a close interest in the progress of teams from their
areas. Schools that do well can expect to receive coverage in
the local and national press - you might have to justify your
interest rate decision to your local community!
©2000-2009 Bank of England.
