Economics / Business

Economics / Business

Economics courses cover such topics as macro- and micro-economics, economic theory, how the economy works, how markets work, and financial affairs.

Business Studies courses include more specific topics, such as setting up a business, business operations, marketing, finance and tax, people in business, monitoring progress.

Economics and Business Studies courses aim to develop students' ability to investigate, and to select and apply their knowledge and understanding of concepts, and then to communicate in an effective way, using charts and diagrams as well as words.

Contact with local businesses will be a boon but these can be enhanced with visits to important institutions – like Parliament, the Bank of England, and the Stock Exchange. Often these institutions have museums, give guided tours and offer workshops. Contact their Education Departments for more information (contact details to be found in their respective SchoolTripsAdvisor listings).

Many schools encourage groups to attend local council meetings, political meetings, while some actually organise the visits to combine listening to speakers with behind-the-scenes experiences.

Main organisations:

Institute of Economic Affairs

PSHE Association

Inclusion: NASEN

Thought of visiting?

Houses of Parliament

Scottish Parliament

Welsh Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Stock Exchange

The Bank of England

Venues for this Curriculum

Elegant suspension bridge and toll-keeper's house

See how trade and travel brought Conwy to life and discover how a husband and wife kept Thomas Telford's bridge open every day of the year, whatever the weather.

Fully restored 18th-century working watermill

Visit this impressive restored 18th-century watermill built on the site of a mill mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. The mill currently produces stoneground wholemeal flour from organic wheat. The team also pack porridge oats and jumbo oats, and mix and pack their own museli. All are available to buy onsite.

It is popularly thought that Thomas Crapper invented the W.C., and that the vulgar word for faeces is a derivative of his name, but neither belief is true. However, etymologists attest that the Amercian word, "crapper", meaning the W.C. is directly from his name.

A wonderful world of wheels and water

Come and explore how the curious cogs and machinery of a fully operational watermill work in the grounds of Hardwick Hall.

For centuries, the water wheel at Stainsby Mill has ground flour for the Hall and the estate. The wheel is still turning today, fed by the adjoining Miller's pond. Find out more about this fascinating process at Stainsby Mill.

Almost 250 million visitors regardless of age or origin have come from all over the planet to see the metal latticework of the Eiffel Tower since its opening in 1889.

Like all towers, it allows us to see and to be seen, with a spectacular ascent, a unique panoramic view of Paris, and a glittering beacon in the skies of the capital of France.

A traditional English landscape

Outridge is an 80 acre farm set on the side of Toy's Hill. It has an impressive grade 2 listed square oast house and piggery located in its centre and is home to the Octavia Hill basecamp.

A 10-km (6.5 mile) underground track between Paddington Station and Whitechapel sorting offices, it was served by a fleet of 2-ft gauge driverless electric trains, once transporting 30,000 mailbags containing four million letters and packets every day.

If you are visiting nearby Stourhead then why not walk half a mile or so to see one of the great follies of the UK.

Step back to the 1770s at poet William Wordsworth’s childhood home

Wordsworth House and Garden, in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, is the birthplace and childhood home of romantic poet William and his sister Dorothy.

It is presented as it would have been when they lived here with their parents, three brothers and servants in the 1770s.

Explore the history of medicine. Be terrified by our death masks and find out what an amputation looked like in the 19th century! Stop at the apothecary for a cholera remedy and have a go at our mystery object game.

A peaceful retreat set within the beautiful Devon countryside

There's something for everyone at Parke, found on the outskirts of the small market town of Bovey Tracey, gateway to mystical Dartmoor. You can walk from the town (about one mile) or stop off as you drive to the open moor, where the next stop is the rugged crag of Haytor.

Muchelney Abbey, which lies two miles south of Langport, was once a landmark in the Somerset Levels and still has much to offer its visitors – history lovers in particular will enjoy this fascinating site but there is also plenty for families to do.

A modest but complete and attractive 14th century chantry chapel, perhaps originally a hospital.

The modest flint and cobble chapel retains some attractive medieval features and, despite uncertainties over its origin, the rarity of medieval hospitals lends added interest.

A small museum packed with fascinating information, and full of fun things to do and see. Dress up as a monk, build a castle, see an observation beehive and more. Free audio guide available.

School and Group Visits

Although a charter was granted to the town in 1705, following a petition citing the lack of local justice which stated "whereof the morall of the inhabitants are corrupt, and cavill and breach of the peace are frequent", it was not until 1813 when an order was placed with a Mr.Beard of Somerton to draw up plans for a Town Hall.

Remains of a late 13th-century knight's dwelling

Old Soar Manor is a small but nevertheless complete portion of stone manor house built c. 1290. Nestled in a remote position within the Kent countryside, on the edge of the picturesque North Downs, this rare survival of 13th century domestic architecture gives an illuminating impression of the life of a rich medieval family.

Working watermill and workshops

This working mill next to the Morden Stream is an atmospheric reminder of the recent past when corn was ground here for the local community. It’s believed that mills have worked in the Tamar valley since medieval times and this watermill dates back to the 19th century. The buildings surrounding the mill were used as stables, cowsheds, a hayloft and a ‘cherry house’ for storing cherries.

18th-century printing press

Take a step back in time and discover a treasure trove of ink, galleys and presses hidden behind an 18th-century shop front in the heart of Strabane, once the famous printing town of Ulster.

Gray’s Printing Press is now being staffed with local volunteers who have gained expert knowledge about the Press.

Visit the extensive ruins of Baconsthorpe Castle, a moated and fortified 15th century manor house, that are a testament to the rise and fall of a prominent Norfolk family, the Heydons.

Over 200 years, successive generations of this ambitious family built, then enlarged, and finally abandoned this castle.

The best-preserved remains of a Cistercian abbey west cloister range in England, dating mainly from around 1170. Incorporated into part of a 17th century and later mansion, set in Rufford Country Park.

Berwick Barracks was built in the early 18th century to the design of the distinguished architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, the Barracks was among the first in England to be purpose built.

Miles of mystery and history beneath your feet

Extending some 35km (22 miles), the man-made caves were constructed as an ancient lime and flint mine.

The remains of a large and luxurious villa built around AD 250, with a bathhouse complex and possibly the shrine of a water spirit.

The villa at Great Witcombe is one of a group of large houses in the region and was constructed on the steep banks of Birdlip Hill below a line of springs.

The charming ruins of a small monastery of Premonstratensian 'white canons', picturesquely set above a bend in the River Tees near Barnard Castle.

Remains include much of the 13th century church and a range of living quarters, with traces of their ingenious toilet drainage system.

Help us bring this special Grace II listed building back to life

Poltimore House is a significant Devon landmark, historically and architecturally. The drawing shows it as it was c.1900. The speculative reconstructions at the bottom of this page show it as it might be, once restored and back to full use. 

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