Eighteen-year-old Florrie Critchley had more than looming exams on her mind last week. The student from Tonbridge Grammar School and three other classmates spent days debating interest rates in the run-up to their presentation at the Target Two Point Zero Competition organised by the Bank of England and supported by The Times.

The students made up one of seven school teams taking part in the South East England area final of the competition, which challenges students to recommend, in the style of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), what should happen to interest rates to meet the Government's inflation target of 2 per cent.

Another 35 teams, whittled down from an initial field of 279, took part in regional finals across the country. Of primary concern to most teams in the South East England final was the effect of the global economic climate on the UK, rising commodity prices and the constraints on consumer credit as a result of the credit crunch.

Several teams carried out their own surveys to get up-to-date data. Some questioned estate agents about the housing market, for example. Miss Critchley's team decided that a

“wait-and-see” policy would be prudent at present, voting to hold rates at 5.25 per cent.

Tonbridge School, the regional winner, echoed the sentiments of the MPC by saying that there had to be “a balance in monetary policy”. Its team decided they “had to be forward looking” and that “cutting the rate now will keep inflation on target in the medium term.” Four other teams agreed, including Dame Alice Owen's School, which came second in the overall competition.

Andrew Sentance, a member of the MPC and one of the competition judges, was impressed by the pupils' economic expertise.

Dr Sentance said: “The students have all got to grips with the issues the MPC are facing and this was reflected in the high quality of the presentations.” The national final will be held at the Bank of England on March 14, with a £10,000 prize and a Challenge trophy for the winning team.

Winners of last week's area finals

East Anglia and South East England
Tonbridge School, Kent: Matt Vikitsreth (captain), Henry Li, Will Mosseri-Marlio, Charlie Simon

Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England
Loreto College, Coleraine, Co. Derry: Aoife Daly (captain), Ciaran Barclay, Stephen McGrath, Kevin O’Neill

Wales, West Midlands and South West England
Wolverhampton Girls’ High School: Nicola Shadbolt (captain), Charlotte Cooper, Rebecca Preece, Kate Simcox

Central and Southern England
Peter Symonds’ College, Winchester: Gareth Anderson (captain), Rajdeep Gahir, Raj Rabheru, Leila Rohd-Thomsen

London
The Tiffin Girls’ School, Kingston-upon-Thames: Nancy Chen (captain), Georgia O’Donnell, Neshma Shah, Teresa Song

Yorkshire and The Humber, South and East Midlands
Leeds Grammar School: Tobias Lee (captain), Joshua Lane, Richard Parkin, James Wain

Explore Economics

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