Economics is essential to understanding the world in which we live and work. Economics links poverty, obesity, plastic pollution, inflation, globalisation and many more talking points in the media. Knowing how the world works and making sense of the news headlines you read is an important stepping stone into the world of work. Studying economics is a rewarding intellectual experience, offering highly marketable skills in a way that is both stimulating and analytically rigorous. Pupils who study economics think in an analytical way and can break down problems into smaller parts with a view to working out solutions to complex problems. If you have questions about global events and what the consequences might be, then economics could be for you. The course is split into microeconomics and macroeconomics. In microeconomics, pupils learn about how consumers and firms behave. It offers pupils a chance to study their own behaviour as consumers as well as understand the causes and effects of consumer decisions. Macroeconomics looks at the interplay between consumers, firms, government and the wider international community. Both microeconomics and macroeconomics study the impact of government policies. Pupils will learn how to analyse political, social, business and economic events using economic modelling and contextual understanding. A working knowledge of current affairs and recent economic context is important for success in this subject.