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A team of five Year 12 QE economists was the only one to turn a profit in an auction at a prestigious conference attended by over 200 delegates from a number of leading schools.

More than 30 QE boys attended the Economics Conference at Woodhouse College in North Finchley, which aimed to offer pupils a unique opportunity to hear directly from academics, researchers and policymakers.

The event was jointly organised by the college and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR); it was supported by supported by blue-chip organisations including The Bank of England, The Royal Economics Society, The Government Economics Service and several top universities.

QE’s Head of Economics Shamendra Uduwawala said: “This type of event not only allows our boys to hear directly from both leading academics and those who shape policy, but it also enables them to mix with their peers from other schools. There is no doubt that a conference such as this exposes boys to high-level thinking while reinforcing what they have been learning in the classroom.”

Professor Jagjit Chadha, the Director of NIESR and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, delivered a truncated version of his recent Brexit talk to the Commons Select Committee on Brexit.

QE pupil Rishi Shah, one of the joint Presidents of the School’s Economics Society said: “For me, this talk was the highlight of the day; it was about forecasting and the role it plays in predicting the outcomes of Brexit. Professor Chadha used the metaphor of rolling a dice to show how forecasts can be rational, accurate yet wrong. He gave an insight into the work that NIESR conducts in forecasting and mapping out the likely outcomes of Brexit and the rationale behind the effects of business uncertainty.”

In her lecture, Financial Stability: a fine balancing act, Dr Rhiannon Sowerbutts described her role at the Bank of England as a Senior Economist and advisor to the Financial Policy Committee. She spoke about the importance of identifying potential risks to financial stability, such as household debt rising faster than incomes.

Dr Babak Somekh, from the University of Bristol. led an auction activity in the afternoon, involving food items. The delegates were split into teams of five. Year 12 pupil Hanif Gofur, who is the other joint President of QE’s Economics Society said: “We didn’t know in advance which food item would be auctioned next, so all the teams were kept on their toes. The atmosphere became electrified and chaotic as bids between schools intensified – often beyond the bounds of rationality.” Hanif and his QE teammates held their nerve and turned a healthy £250 profit on their £2,500 budget – the only team to make a profit.

Sarah Billingham, an Assistant Economist at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, promoted a new Degree Apprenticeship offered by the Government Economics Service in her lecture, How can economists influence policy? She suggested to delegates that this programme could be a good option for aspiring economists aiming for a higher education qualification who wished to avoid student debt and the loss of three to four years of potential earnings.

The day was concluded by Dr Lea Samek, of Kings College London, and Dr Michela Vecchi, of the University of Middlesex, who respectively looked at the UK’s productivity performance since the financial crash of 2008 and the impact of automation on the UK labour market.
Rishi said: “Overall, it was a phenomenal experience to hear from many different renowned speakers and it most definitely piqued my interest in Economics.”

In addition to delegates from QE and the hosts, Woodhouse College, there were pupils from Dame Alice Owen’s School, Highgate Wood School, The Camden School for Girls and Fortismere.

Only a few short months after starting his job as a Civil Service economist, Old Elizabethan Andrei Sandu was already advising a Government Minister at a European summit, he told senior boys at a special lunchtime lecture.

Andrei (OE 2007-14) took up his role in August last year with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the economists’ group of the Civil Service Fast Stream. By the autumn of 2017, he was called upon to attend a Council of Ministers summit in Brussels, where he advised Lord Henley, of BEIS, throughout the session.

“There are few jobs where just four months in you are able to shape UK policy and EU law,” he told the boys as he promoted Civil Service careers. After his lecture, he also conducted a number of mock interviews with pupils considering studying Economics at university.

Thanking him for his visit, Head of Year 13 Michael Feven said: “This was an ideal opportunity for boys to hear about an interesting and rewarding career path in economics.”

After leaving QE, Andrei read Economics at Durham, where he gained a first-class degree last year.
In broad terms, he set out for the lunchtime audience both the departmental structure of the Civil Service and his own role, which involves advising the Government of the day and supporting it in implementing its plans, while remaining politically neutral. He also provided information about BEIS, including the history of the 2016 merger of the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills with the Department of Energy & Climate Change to form the new department.

His role at BEIS is as lead economist working on EU energy regulations, analysing draft laws and regulations to explore which aspects the UK would consent to and which it would want to see amended. He considers factors such as how much implementation would cost, the likely policies required to achieve particular targets and how measures should be phased in – whether, for example, to stipulate even progress each year or whether instead to specify an incremental build-up.

Andrei will return to QE on 22nd November for the School’s annual Careers Convention, where he will give his support and advice to boys in Year 11 beginning to think about their future career paths.

Six Year 12 pupils came third in the national final of a competition designed to show teenagers what it is like to be a chartered accountant.

The sixth-formers had reached the last 50 at the final in Birmingham after first seeing off competitors in three previous rounds of the BASE contest, which is organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

They won a coveted Highly Commended trophy as well as the prize of spending a day at the London offices of Ernst & Young (EY). Nationwide, the competition attracted entries from 500 schools and more than 4,000 pupils.

In the earlier rounds, the team had to present ideas for a fictional technology company. In the final challenge, however, they were given a fresh business study and required to think like chartered accountants, planning an appropriate strategy to enable the business to move forward.

Economics teacher Kimberley Jackson said: “They had to use knowledge acquired through their Economics lessons to analyse the problems surrounding acquisitions and mergers and to reflect upon important current issues impacting businesses, such as cyber safety and data protection.

“The team delivered a short presentation to a panel of judges and were asked many challenging questions. The judges were very impressed with their informative and well-delivered presentation.

“The boys all thoroughly enjoyed the experience of presenting and the chance to network with major employers such as PwC, EY and KPMG. They now look forward to competing again in 2018-19.”

The team comprised Shakeel Ahmed, Tarun Alexander, Millan George, Parth Gosalia, Manan Shah and Rohan Shah.

Economics Society guest speaker Lal Chadeesingh gave pupils an insider’s view of how behavioural economics is being applied to UK public policy – and explained that it all stemmed from the personal interest of David Cameron.

Lal works at the Behavioural Insights Team – a group that was the brainchild of former Prime Minister Cameron, who set it up under the Cabinet after reading the seminal book, Nudge. The team was later spun out into a company part-owned by the Government which now works to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Government measures.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This was a good opportunity for the boys to hear about a different side of Economics beyond finance, and to understand how economic theory can be used in the public interest.”

Year 12 pupil, Ibrahim Al-Hariri, added: ‘The talk introduced a part of Economics that is often overlooked; changing people’s behaviour for their benefit is a fascinating idea that I would love to explore.”

Lal, who read Economics at Durham before completing a Master’s degree in Economics and Public Policy at Bristol, introduced boys to the principles behind behavioural economics as described in Thinking Fast and Slow – another key work about this emerging discipline and one of the first books to introduce it to a wider public. The book contrasts two modes of thought: fast, which is automatic, intuitive and requires little to no effort, and slow, which is conscious, more deliberative and logical. While traditional assumptions among economists and policy-makers about the existence of homo-economicus (a purely rational decision-maker) take no account of this dichotomy, exponents of behavioural economics have used it to develop a theory of predictable irrationality.

The Behavioural Insights Team uses this understanding to tailor policies and their implementation so that they are more effective in generating the desired results, explained Lal, who began his career working in the Civil Service under the then-Business Secretary Vince Cable. It has condensed its guidance into a simple mnemonic, EAST (Easy, Attractive, Social, Timely), for policy-makers to keep in mind.

One assignment taken on by the team was reducing the number of people missing NHS appointments by looking at the wording of text messages sent out to patients. After testing various other forms of wording, they found that stating the material cost to the NHS of missing an appointment was the most effective, with a typical message reading:

• We are expecting you at Mile End Hospital on Sep 16 at 10:00am. Not attending costs NHS £160 approx. Call 02077673200 if you need to cancel or rearrange.

This change reduced missed appointments by 2.6% which, although a diminutive percentage, equates to 400,000 appointments nationwide.

Year 12 economist Mipham Samten said that, to some amusement from the boys, Lal also explained the theory behind painting a small fly on the back of lavatories – a small, subtle image getting men to focus on the task at hand and reducing the chances of spillages by a significant rate.

“Students were rather less amused by another novel application of the EAST framework on behaviour,” added Mipham. “The team had discovered that the effect of sending text messages to parents informing them their child will have an exam soon and asking them to encourage revision was to increase maths score grades by the equivalent of one month’s teaching.”

“Overall,” said Mipham, “Lal’s talk opened the students’ eyes to the numerous material benefits of Economics to the public and many expressed an interest in pursuing professional economics as a career.”

Jonathan Kruger’s plans to use technology to “reinvent” the fashion industry have been drawing attention from investors and journalists alike.

His company, The Drop, started trading only in April this year, but has already secured £250,000 in ‘pre-seed’ funding from venture capitalists Forward Partners and has also featured in the business pages of The Times. Jonathan (OE 2000–2007) expects to secure further investment of around £1.5m soon.

“We launched with a simple website and now we are using the investment we have already received to make it better and better, adding new features as often as twice a week. Next year, with the additional investment, we plan to expand into the US.”

Already, the website allows men to submit their measurements with a photograph and browse a range of styles before ordering made-to-measure suits from £299. They can then have them delivered anywhere in the world in two weeks. The suits are laser-cut and then hand-finished.

But, says Jonathan, that is just the start: “It’s not really a suit business. We are changing the way that clothing is made, discovered and bought and addressing each stage of the process. We looked at what is wrong with the fashion industry and we want to reinvent it, to disrupt the high street and the traditional retail structures.”

The inspiration came from a couple of years he spent working in Shanghai, where he set up a clothing company supplying big retailers. He told The Times journalist of his dismay at the wastage of natural resources and the damage done to human lives by the way the supply chain worked. Retailers would typically order a range six to 12 months in advance, with the clothing produced in very large quantities but in a limited range of styles and in limited sizing.

“We would be manufacturing dresses for $7, selling them for $11 and then they’d turn up in the shops at a few hundred quid. We saw lots of big retailers buying 20,000 of something and then deciding they don’t want it after it’s been produced. As consumers, we pay for this waste with our wallets.”

The Drop commissions a number of high-tech factories in the Far East to make its clothing. “It’s mass personalisation to replace mass production and fast fashion,” said Jonathan. “We only produce what we need, so we are building a fashion business that is not only better for the customer, but better for the world.”

Jonathan, who is The Drop’s chief executive officer, met his co-founder, Stephen Stroud, one-and-a-half years ago. Stephen is a software engineer and is The Drop’s chief technology officer. “We are building a platform which is AI-led: it uses machine learning to understand what you like to wear and how you like things to fit,” says Jonathan. The workforce at The Drop is being expanded as the business grows. “We should be a team of seven in the next couple of months.”

Jonathan took a degree in Politics at Sheffield after leaving QE, graduating in 2010. During his spell in Shanghai from 2010 to 2012, he helped establish and then manage a Chinese sales team for a UK-based trading company.

In the run-up to the end of the autumn term, Jonathan came as a speaker to QE’s Young Entrepreneurs Club in the Main Hall. Headmaster Neil Enright said: “We really enjoyed his excellent presentation and eight key messages for aspiring entrepreneurs.” These were:

1. 1. Don’t play it safe and don’t be afraid to fail;
   2. Always hustle:
   3. Think big and go big;
   4. Success takes time;
   5. Be stubborn on vision but flexible on details;
   6. Don’t let vanity make you lose focus;
   7. When starting out, no job is beneath you;
   8. Be humble enough to ask for help.

Old boy Aaron Tan stressed the importance of seizing opportunities as they become available when he spoke to QE’s Entrepreneurs’ Club.

His very varied career has taken him all over the world and into widely differing business sectors. Aaron (OE 1996–2003) recounted his experiences, which range from successfully running his family’s restaurant business to training people in the Far East in presentation skills.

Head of Economics Shamendra Uduwawala said: “His insight as an entrepreneur was extremely beneficial, especially as the talk was run more like a lesson in business, with the use of real-life examples. He spoke of how easy it is to start a business and gave the basics on how to do this and then build upon it. It was very inspiring for the boys.”

After leaving QE in 2003, Aaron went to university in Manchester, where he studied Business with Marketing Specialism.  He then worked briefly in a road reinstatement company, where in his first three months he negotiated the payment of a £120k debt that was owed to the company.

He went on to spend six years with a multinational aerospace and defence company, before leaving to take over the family restaurant due to his mother getting ill. He managed to make a success of this family business.

Since then, Aaron has opened a photography studio and become a part-time lecturer at the University of Greenwich, as well as a presentation skills trainer: he has helped people in the UK, Vietnam and Malaysia. In addition, he is currently collaborating with others on several ventures, ranging from an educational ‘app’ aimed at GCSE students to an image consulting business which he will be starting soon.

The topics covered included valid reasons for starting a business and the attributes an entrepreneur needs to achieve success. “Stay humble and do not just chase money because that alone won’t help you be successful,” Aaron advised the boys.

He borrowed freely from a number of sources of business wisdom and included in his presentation a quotation from Sir Richard Branson, perhaps the country’s most famous entrepreneur: “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”

Mr Uduwawala said: “I think Aaron has lived by that – he has taken on many opportunities and those risks that he has been willing to take have made him very successful.”