On Thursday, 10 February 2022, Economics students at St Dominic’s welcomed two representatives of the Bank of England to college.  Alan Castle and Aakash Mankodi – a student of St Dominic’s between 2008 and 2010 - spoke about the Bank of England and, in particular, its role in the maintenance of financial stability. They also explained their own part in supporting the work of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.  Students were privileged to be given an insight into key issues that the Bank believes will shape the economy over coming months, including key factors driving inflation higher; how the pandemic continues to influence/restrict supply; and how the Bank sees the outlook for wages within the wider labour market.

Students seized the opportunity to ask questions of Alan and Aakash, exploring their interest in interest rates and monetary policy, the significance of wages in generating inflationary pressures and how the UK might see the future for cryptocurrencies.  Student feedback regarding the event has been very positive. More than 90% of respondents to the post-event online survey rated the Bank’s talk as interesting or very interesting.  As students said that they would “… love to have more of these events …”, the Economics department will continue to work hard to fulfil student ambitions and “… hold talks more often …” and “… explore specific areas related to economics …”. Indeed, on 8 March 2022, College will celebrate International Women’s Day with another Economics-themed talk.  Former BBC Economics editor Stephanie Flanders, now Senior Executive Editor for Economics at Bloomberg News and Head of Bloomberg Economics, will visit St Dominic’s and offer students an insight into her career and the application of their A-level course to the wider world.  

Anthony Duffy - Teacher of Economics