"Informative and enjoyable" Economics Conference takes place for Sixth Formers

On Tuesday 14^th November, the Shrewsbury School Economics Society was proud to stage its annual Economics conference.

The theme of the conference asked the question “Has Brexit left the UK Economy weaker?”. Hosting 160 young economists from three schools including Oswestry School and Shrewsbury 6^th Form College, the auditorium was filled with a buzz of excitement and anticipation.

We were extremely glad to welcome Julia Buckley (Labour Councillor for Bridgnorth and ex member of European Parliament) and Mr. Simon Richards (co-founder of “Better Out” campaign) as keynote speakers. They kicked the conference off with passionate speeches arguing diametrically opposed perspectives.

This was then followed by a student team debate on the motion reflecting the conference theme. The teams comprised students from Shrewsbury School, Shrewsbury 6^th Form College and Oswestry School. Our debaters on the teams were Felix K (SH, UVI), Janice W (G, UVI), Kate V (G, UVI) and Liam G (Rt, UVI). The audience, who were gripped by the debaters’ arguments and enthusiastic with their questions for the debaters, had the final say, voting for the winning team.

In the afternoon, we welcomed two more visiting speakers who joined Julia and Simon to form a panel from all across the political spectrum to answer and debate questions posed by students. We welcomed Hannah Herrmann (political academic) and Richard Hudson (former Housemaster of Churchill’s). The fifth member of the panel providing balanced and objective perspectives was our very own Kate V. This Question Time event was ably chaired by Felix K as he managed a healthy discussion controlling and directing questions with great skill.

The conference came “off theme” for the final session which with two inciteful Economics Society student presentations.  The first presentation on the effects of the Israel/Gaza conflict on cryptocurrency markets and the second was by Felix K and Kate V questioning whether Adam Smith was entirely relevant to modern world economic challenges.

Throughout the day Anna S (M, UVI) and Angus X (R, UVI) provided the audience with accurate introductions to the speakers and the theme of the conference itself.

All in all, this day proved to be both extremely informative and enjoyable for all attending.

Nick Zafar

Economics Teacher