Target 2.0


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For the second consecutive year, Charterhouse entered a team in the Target 2.0 Challenge run by the Bank of England and The Times.  It is a competition designed to help those studying A level economics to understand the way interest rates are set. Teams of students gather data in the same way that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) does, and then make presentations explaining whether or not they think interest rates should be changed or remain the same for the following month. This year six Carthusians were chosen to represent the school in this challenge; we were helped in this by JSH.

On Thursday 30th November the Charterhouse team went, with teams from six other schools, to Farnham Castle where the regional heats were taking place. Chris Harper (g) introduced the presentation, and talked about inflation; he was followed by James Wong (P), who talked about how close the UK economy is to full capacity and about the international economy. After that Tom Chan (S) and Cynthia Chan (S) discussed supply and demand side factors respectively.  The two unsung heroes who helped with the research but did not present were Emma Varley (V) and Luke Taylor (S). They contributed research on spare capacity and the international economy.  The presentation went very smoothly, and the team concluded that the interest rate should be maintained at 5.0%.  This was then followed by a grilling from the judges – members of the Bank of England. The team did exceptionally well at dealing with this situation; special mention should go to James Wong, the team captain, who appeared to know absolutely everything they asked.

Unfortunately, the team finished runners-up on the day, meaning that JSH will have to wait at least another year for glory in this fiercely contested challenge.  Thanks to everyone who was involved: it was a great effort!

Luke Taylor (S)