Second-year B6 Student Finalist in Discover Economics Young Economist of the Year Competition

We’re delighted to share that second-year A-Level Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Physics student, Shayaan Al-Asmi, reached the finals of the Discover Economics Young Economist of the Year Competition. The competition, sponsored by KPMG, is an annual event aimed at Year 10 to 13 students to encourage them to produce their own ideas in analysing contemporary economic problems facing the UK and the world.

Former Essa Academy student, Shayaan, entered the competition (which attracted over 2,700 participants this year) as he’s extremely interested in Economics and hopes to progress to study it at Cambridge University. In the final, hosted by KPMG at their offices in Canary Wharf, he was tasked with giving a presentation on his chosen topic: “Should the government tax goods that are unhealthy?”. Adam Leeming, Teacher of Economics accompanied Shayaan to the final and said:

“Shayaan delivered a fantastic presentation discussing key areas of Behavioural and Traditional Economics. The presentation tackled key economic issues and provided imaginative solutions which engaged the audience, and an impressive question panel made up of the following people: Fiona Cox – Partner KPMG; Chris Giles -Economics Commentator – Financial Times; Laurie Rachet-Jacquet – Economist, The Health Foundation; Dharshini David – Chief Economic Correspondent BBC; Lucy White – UK Economics Reporter – Bloomberg At the end of the 10-minute presentation Shayaan was asked several challenging questions on his topic, of which he handled brilliantly. To put it into perspective, a few of the questions even had some of the most experienced Economics teachers in the audience stumbled, but Shayaan was well prepared, giving constructive answers throughout. Shayaan was a credit to the college during this event, the level of professionalism that he displayed throughout the day was admirable and I would like to congratulate him once again on his efforts.

Shayaan also had the amazing opportunity to tour HM Treasury and Number 10 and 11 Downing Street with the other finalists. Teacher of Maths, Mark Heslop, accompanied Shayaan on this part of the trip and was really impressed with Shayaan’s success and said:

This is a fantastic achievement. Shayaan beat thousands of students from private and state schools across the country despite being on his own whilst most others did it in teams. It was a pleasure to accompany him to Downing Street where he got to knock on the door of number 11 at the start of the day as well as being a credit to the college throughout the day.

Shayaan really enjoyed the experience saying:

I entered the competition to gain a deeper insight into economics and to explore how economic theories can be applied to real world scenarios. This experience has been incredibly rewarding; I have improved my presentation skills, expanded my network, and have had the unforgettable opportunity to visit Downing Street and the HM Treasury. I did not expect to get this far, and I am grateful for the support I have received from my teachers at the sixth form throughout this journey.

Everyone at The Sixth Form was really proud of Shayaan with Assistant Principal, Mark Goodwin saying:

As a member of our Honours Programme, Shayaan has proved an inspiration to others. His dedication coupled with undoubted academic ability has resulted in a successful time here at the Sixth Form. I am sure this success will continue long into the future.

You can read Shayaan’s submission for the competition here