The economics pathway

Parent Briefing

What is coming each term, and what you can do. In Years 9 to 11 the aim is curiosity and good habits, not applications. From Year 12 the dates start to matter.

Year 9

Year 9 is for finding out whether economics interests you. Notice prices, read a little, ask why. The one real decision this year is GCSE options, and the options decoder shows which choices keep economics open.

Autumn term

How to help: Ask what they noticed in the news this week, and why a price went up or down. Curiosity is the whole job this year.

Spring term

How to help: Options evenings: take Maths seriously, because almost every economics degree asks for A-level Maths later. The options decoder has the detail.

Summer term

How to help: Suggest one book, podcast or documentary over the holiday, and start a simple list of what they read. It becomes useful years later.

Everything for Year 9

Year 10

Year 10 is about habits: reading a little each week, maths challenges through school, and noticing how the economy shows up in daily life. A few programmes start this year; most of the opportunities come later.

Autumn term

How to help: Help them keep a short reading log: title, one idea, one question. Ten minutes a week is plenty.

Spring term

How to help: Ask the school about the UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, which runs through schools in January.

Summer term

How to help: If there is a work experience week, help them ask for a placement where numbers and decisions meet.

Everything for Year 10

Year 11

GCSEs come first. The decision that matters for economics is A-level choice: Maths, and whether Further Maths is offered. Keep any extras small and enjoyable.

Autumn term

How to help: Check which A-levels the sixth form offers, especially Maths and Further Maths. If Further Maths is not offered, ask about the AMSP.

Spring term

How to help: Protect revision time. One short weekly read is enough alongside GCSEs.

Summer term

How to help: After the exams: a book, a short online course, or a small project. Something they choose themselves.

Everything for Year 11

Year 12

Most of the essay competitions, summer schools, access programmes and work experience happen in Year 12. Deadlines start in the autumn, so it pays to look at the whole year early.

Autumn term

How to help: Several access programmes close in October and November. If the student attends a state school, check the criteria now.

Spring term

How to help: Summer school applications (Sutton Trust, UNIQ and others) open in the winter and close by early spring.

Summer term

How to help: Open days in July, and a first draft of the personal statement. Essay competitions with summer deadlines fit here too.

Everything for Year 12

Year 13

Year 13 is the application year: admissions tests, UCAS deadlines, interviews and decisions.

Autumn term

How to help: Test booking and bursary deadlines come before the tests themselves. Check them against each course on the list.

Spring term

How to help: Decisions arrive from January. Keep the reading going for interviews and the first year.

Summer term

How to help: Results, then Clearing if needed. Offer holders can start on first-year maths.

Everything for Year 13

Alerts to your inbox

With the Pathway Plan, alerts for a student under 18 go to a parent’s address: one email 7 days before a confirmed date opens or closes, never more than two a week, and every email has a link to stop them.