Economists Race to London

On Wednesday 19^th June all of the LVIth Economists embarked on a trip to London in order to broaden our knowledge and give some background to the new transport economics module. The day began with a race to London, with half the students travelling by coach and half on public transport. This gave us a chance to assess how effective each mode of transport was, with the coach on both the outward and return journey winning the race.

Once we arrived in London the next task was yet another race from Waterloo to the Bank of England Museum. On route we visited some tenuously linked economics monuments, such as the London School of Economics. Once we arrived at the Bank we had lunch and then were given a fascinating lecture on the history, purpose and workings of the bank. One of the most remarkable facts was that one in four £1 coins in London are fakes!

From the Bank we headed off to Schroeder’s investment bank (Mr. Block’s former employers) to here two short talks. One about the Global economy from the Chief Economist and the other from an Old Cranleighan, now parent, on the housing investment branch of the company. Both were highly useful not only for the course but also as possible careers information.

The day was rounded off by a trip to the London Transport Museum where we were tasked with answering questions about the displays which covered transport history in its entirety: from the 1800s right through to predictions of future transport. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable day, and an excellent contrast to a normal school timetable.