Bank of England visit to Year 13 Economics Class

Our Year 13 Economics students were delighted to welcome Alison Scott, Director of Authorisations, RegTech and International Supervision at the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), part of the Bank of England.

Alison delivered an insightful and thought-provoking talk about her role in overseeing the safety and stability of the UK’s financial system. She explained how the PRA works to ensure that banks, building societies, credit unions and investment banks operate responsibly and reduce their risk of financial difficulty — a vital safeguard for the wider economy.

Students were particularly interested to learn that the PRA was established in response to the global financial crisis of 2008, marking a new era of financial regulation.

Students were asked questions throughout such as what they thought explained the changes in the bank rate in 2022, and correctly suggested the war in Ukraine.  It made energy and food much more expensive, which pushed up inflation. In response, the Bank of England increased its bank rate several times to make borrowing costlier and help slow down rising prices.

Alison brought her work to life with real-world examples, including the recent difficulties faced by Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse, helping students understand how quickly financial instability can develop and the wider consequences it can have.

The talk also explored the crucial role of UK bond markets, as well as an explanation of Quantitative Easing, a process where the Bank of England creates money to buy financial assets, increasing the money in the economy, lowering long-term interest rates which helps encourage spending and investment when cutting interest rates alone isn’t enough.   These are all topics that directly link to areas currently being studied in class.

It was a fascinating session that enabled students to connect economic theory with real-world policymaking at the highest level. We are extremely grateful to Alison for sharing her expertise and inspiring our aspiring economists.