Economics
Which schools in England make Economics a big part of the curriculum, and where results are strongest. Entries and grades from the 2025 performance tables.
At A level, Economics was offered in 1,675 schools and colleges, with 38,801 entries — roughly 13% of A level students.
A level: schools and colleges where the largest share of students take Economics
Entries as a share of A level students (at least 30 A level students and 10 entries). England: 13% of A level students.
What pupils learn in Economics, stage by stage
England has no national year-by-year syllabus: exam boards and schools set the order within each stage. These are the statutory blocks from the Department for Education, so a parent can see what a child meets in Years 7–9, what every GCSE candidate must cover, and what waits in the sixth form.
What A level Economics teaches · Years 12–13
47 learning outcomes from the Department for Education’s statutory subject content, grouped by topic. Each outcome belongs to one of twelve fields of knowledge used across startfrom.today: Business & Administration (37), Mathematics & Statistics (9), Law & Public Administration (1). Exam boards add detail on top of these; the outcomes themselves are the same whichever board a school uses.
Scarcity and choice4
- explain the basic economic problem of scarcity and choiceYear 12 · AS — choice, scarcity
- explain the concept of opportunity costYear 12 · AS — opportunity cost
- explain the effects of specialisation and tradeYear 12 · AS — specialisation, trade
- explain marginal analysis in economic decision-makingYear 12 · AS — marginal analysis
How competitive markets work6
- explain how resources are allocated in competitive marketsYear 12 · AS — resource allocation
- explain the objectives of economic agents in marketsYear 12 · AS — economic agents
- analyse market behaviour using the supply and demand modelYear 12 · AS — demand, market equilibrium, supply
- calculate and interpret price elasticity of demand and supplyYear 12 · AS — elasticity, price elasticity of demand
- evaluate the productive and allocative efficiency of marketsYear 12 · AS — allocative efficiency, productive efficiency
- analyse the interaction between marketsYear 12 · AS — interconnected markets
Competition and market power3
- explain business objectives in different market structuresYear 12 · AS — business objectives, market structure
- analyse how market structure affects resource allocationYear 12 · AS — market structure, resource allocation
- analyse the interdependence of firms in oligopolistic marketsYear 12 · AS — interdependence of firms, oligopoly
Labour market3
- explain how wages are determined in the labour marketYear 12 · AS — wage determination
- analyse labour market issuesYear 12 · AS — labour market issues
- evaluate government intervention in the labour marketYear 12 · AS — government intervention, labour market
Market failure and government intervention5
- explain how externalities cause market failureYear 12 · AS — externalities, market failure
- analyse the impact of market power on market failureYear 12 · AS — market failure, market power
- explain how information asymmetry causes market failureYear 12 · AS — information asymmetry, market failure
- evaluate government intervention to correct market failureYear 12 · AS — government intervention, market failure
- evaluate the causes and consequences of government failureYear 12 · AS — government failure
Economic models and skills3
- evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the market economyYear 12 · AS — market economy
- evaluate the role of government in a market economyYear 12 · AS — government intervention, market economy
- evaluate the limitations of economic modelsYear 12 · AS — economic models
The determination of output, employment and prices3
- explain the circular flow of income, expenditure and outputYear 13 — circular flow of income
- analyse the economy using the aggregate demand and aggregate supply modelYear 13 — aggregate demand, aggregate supply
- evaluate supply-side and demand-side policies for managing the economyYear 13 — demand-side policy, supply-side policy
Financial sector3
- explain the role of the financial sector in the real economyYear 13 — financial sector, real economy
- explain the purpose of financial regulationYear 13 — financial regulation
- explain the role of central banksYear 13 — central banks
Economic policy objectives and indicators of macro-economic performance2
- explain macroeconomic policy objectives including growth and employmentYear 13 — economic growth, employment, inflation
- evaluate potential conflicts and trade-offs between policy objectivesYear 13 — policy conflicts, trade-offs
The global context4
- analyse the causes and effects of international tradeYear 13 — international trade
- evaluate the impact of globalisation on the economyYear 13 — globalisation
- evaluate trade policies and negotiationsYear 13 — trade policy
- analyse the causes and effects of exchange-rate changesYear 13 — exchange rate
The application of policy instruments1
- evaluate the impact of fiscal, monetary and supply-side policy instrumentsYear 13 — exchange-rate policy, fiscal policy, monetary policy, supply-side policy
A level extension skills2
- analyse the assumptions and linkages behind macroeconomic policy impactsYear 13 — macroeconomic policy, policy assumptions
- evaluate economic concepts, theories and models across a wider range of contextsYear 13 — economic models, economic theory
Quantitative skills in economics8
- calculate and interpret ratios and fractionsYear 12 · AS — fraction, ratio
- calculate percentages and percentage changesYear 12 · AS — percentage, percentage change
- calculate the mean, median and quantiles of a data setYear 12 · AS — mean, median, quantiles
- construct and interpret standard graphical formsYear 12 · AS — graph
- calculate and interpret index numbersYear 12 · AS — index number
- calculate cost, revenue and profitYear 12 · AS — cost, profit, revenue
- convert monetary values to real termsYear 12 · AS — nominal values, real values
- interpret economic information in written, graphical and numerical formsYear 12 · AS — economic data
Source: DfE GCE AS and A level economics subject content (2014), Open Government Licence v3.0. Outcomes are split into single actions and rewritten only where the original bundled several; wording otherwise follows the DfE text. Methodology.