Super-Curricular Activities for Economics: A Complete Guide

What is Economics Super-Curricular?

Super-curricular activities extend your economics studies beyond the classroom, demonstrating genuine intellectual curiosity and engagement with the subject. Unlike extracurricular activities, which are unrelated to your academic interests, super-curricular pursuits directly deepen your understanding of economic theory, policy and real-world applications.

For students aspiring to study Economics at top universities, super-curricular engagement is essential. Admissions tutors at Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other leading institutions expect applicants to show they have explored economics independently, engaged with current debates and developed their own informed perspectives on economic issues.

This guidance is invaluable for Year 12 and Year 13 students preparing university applications, particularly those targeting competitive Economics programmes. Parents seeking to support their children's academic development will also find this resource helpful in understanding what universities expect.

Key Components of Economics Super-Curricular

Effective super-curricular engagement in economics encompasses several distinct areas:

Reading Beyond the Curriculum

Engage with economics literature that challenges and expands your classroom learning. This includes:

• Academic journals such as The Economist, Financial Times and specialist publications
• Classic economics texts that have shaped the discipline
• Contemporary books addressing current economic challenges
• Policy papers from institutions like the Bank of England, IMF and OECD
• Research from think tanks covering diverse economic perspectives

Practical Engagement

Apply economic concepts to real-world scenarios through:

• Following current economic debates in parliament and the media
• Analysing recent policy decisions and their economic rationale
• Tracking financial markets and understanding market movements
• Examining economic data releases and their implications
• Participating in economics competitions and challenges

Academic Extension

Develop your analytical capabilities through:

• Online courses from universities offering economics modules
• Attending economics lectures and public events
• Writing essays exploring economic questions independently
• Engaging with economic podcasts and documentaries
• Joining economics societies or starting one at your school

When to Start and Key Milestones

Begin super-curricular work early in Year 12 to build a substantial body of engagement before applications.

Year 12 Autumn Term

Establish your foundation by identifying areas of economics that genuinely interest you. Begin reading regularly, following economic news and exploring introductory texts beyond your syllabus. Start maintaining a record of your reading and reflections.

Year 12 Spring and Summer Terms

Deepen your engagement by tackling more challenging material, attending lectures or events, and perhaps entering an economics essay competition. Consider undertaking an online course or summer programme. This is the time to develop your independent thinking on economic issues.

Year 13 Autumn Term

Focus your super-curricular activities on areas relevant to your personal statement and potential interview discussions. Ensure you can discuss your reading and activities with insight and genuine enthusiasm. Continue engaging with current economic developments.

Ongoing Commitment

Super-curricular engagement works best when it is consistent and spread over time. Universities value sustained intellectual curiosity over last-minute cramming. Even 30 minutes of focused reading several times weekly demonstrates genuine commitment.

Strategies for Effective Super-Curricular Engagement

Develop Critical Perspectives

Universities seek students who engage critically with the information they take in. When reading economics material, question assumptions, identify limitations in arguments and consider alternative perspectives. Economics is a discipline with diverse schools of thought, so familiarise yourself with different approaches from Keynesian to Austrian economics.

Make Connections

Link theoretical concepts to real-world applications. When studying inflation in class, examine current inflation data, central bank responses and policy debates. Connect microeconomic theory to business decisions you observe. This demonstrates sophisticated economic thinking.

Engage with Current Issues

Economics is fundamentally about understanding contemporary challenges. Follow debates on topics such as:

• Monetary policy and interest rate decisions
• Fiscal policy and government spending priorities
• Trade policy and international economics
• Environmental economics and climate policy
• Inequality and redistribution
• Technological change and labour markets

Document Your Learning

Maintain notes on your reading and reflections. This serves two purposes: it reinforces your learning and provides material for your personal statement and interview preparation. You need not create elaborate essays, since brief summaries of key insights prove most useful.

Quality Over Quantity

Admissions tutors prefer depth to breadth. Thoroughly engaging with several carefully chosen texts demonstrates more intellectual maturity than superficially skimming dozens of books. Select material that genuinely interests you and allows for meaningful reflection.

Balance Theory and Application

Combine theoretical texts with practical engagement. Reading economic theory becomes more meaningful when you simultaneously follow how these concepts apply to policy decisions and market behaviour. This balance demonstrates comprehensive understanding.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Superficial Engagement

Simply listing books in your personal statement without demonstrating genuine engagement is immediately apparent to tutors. They can distinguish between students who have meaningfully engaged with material and those who have merely skimmed titles. Always be prepared to discuss in detail anything you mention.

Ignoring Current Economics

Focusing exclusively on classical texts whilst ignoring contemporary economic issues suggests limited genuine interest. Economics is a living discipline addressing current challenges. Failing to engage with recent developments is a significant weakness.

Lacking Critical Analysis

Accepting economic arguments at face value without questioning assumptions or considering alternatives demonstrates superficial understanding. Universities seek students capable of independent critical thought, not passive memorisation.

Narrow Focus

Concentrating solely on one area of economics limits your application. Whilst having particular interests is positive, universities expect broad foundational knowledge across microeconomics, macroeconomics and relevant quantitative methods.

Last-Minute Cramming

Beginning super-curricular activities in summer before Year 13 appears calculated and does little to demonstrate genuine intellectual curiosity. Admissions tutors readily identify students whose engagement lacks authenticity and sustained commitment.

Fabricating Interests

Claiming interest in topics you have not genuinely explored proves disastrous in interviews. Tutors will probe your understanding, and any pretence quickly becomes apparent. Authenticity is important, so pursue areas that genuinely fascinate you.

Neglecting Mathematics

Modern economics increasingly relies on quantitative analysis. Focusing exclusively on descriptive economics whilst avoiding mathematical aspects leaves you inadequately prepared for university-level study. Engage with the mathematical foundations of economic theory.

Named books, podcasts and free courses for economics

Depth with a small number of well-chosen resources tends to serve applicants better than a long, superficial list, and the following are named on university admissions pages or from established, verifiable producers.

LSE's own BSc Economics page suggests Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History by Diane Coyle, The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life by Tim Harford, End This Depression Now by Paul Krugman, and Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, alongside the university-level textbooks Macroeconomics by N. Gregory Mankiw and Microeconomics by Daron Acemoglu, David Laibson and John List for students wanting more rigour.

• Books: Poor Economics (Banerjee and Duflo); GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (Coyle); The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life (Harford); End This Depression Now (Krugman); Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics (Levitt and Dubner)
• Podcasts: Freakonomics Radio; Planet Money and its companion The Indicator, both from NPR; the Bank of England's Money Matters podcast for young people
• Free online courses: CORE Econ's The Economy, an interactive introductory textbook used at several hundred universities worldwide and free to read online; short economics courses on FutureLearn; introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics material on Khan Academy
• Data and news sources: The Economist and the Financial Times, both named on Oxford and LSE reading lists; the Bank of England's own publications and data; the Office for National Statistics for UK economic statistics

For a broader view of how supercurriculars fit alongside extracurricular activities across other subjects, it is worth reading a general introduction to what counts and what does not.

Applicants to courses that require the TMUA will usually want dedicated TMUA tutoring to practise the test's mathematical reasoning questions well before the sitting.

Economics competitions worth entering

Two national competitions are well established and open to sixth formers without requiring economics as an A-Level subject. The Royal Economic Society's Young Economist of the Year essay competition, run in partnership with the Financial Times and open to students in Years 10 to 13, asks entrants to respond to set economic questions, with a top prize and publication in the Financial Times for the strongest entries and wider recognition for shortlisted students.

The Institute of Economic Affairs runs a Student Essay Competition for sixth formers (A-Level or IB, in their final two years of school) that does not require prior economics study, asking for a short essay plus two shorter responses on money and underrepresented topics in the curriculum, with cash prizes and an invitation to an IEA event for top entries.

• Young Economist of the Year (Royal Economic Society, with the Financial Times): Years 10 to 13, essay or short-form response to set questions.
• Student Essay Competition (Institute of Economic Affairs): sixth formers, does not require economics study, combined essay and short-response format.

Which universities ask economics applicants to sit an admissions test

Several leading Economics departments now build a written admissions test into the application, and the requirement varies by course, so it is worth checking the exact course page before assuming either way. Cambridge states that all Economics applicants must take the Test of Mathematics for University Admission (TMUA) at an authorised centre. LSE's BSc Economics page describes the TMUA as mandatory for its Department of Economics programmes, while listing it only as recommended for some mathematics and statistics courses. Imperial's Economics, Finance and Data Science course, run by the Business School, also requires the TMUA, alongside Imperial's mathematics and computing courses.

UCL has introduced a TMUA requirement for its Economics BSc and Economics with a Year Abroad degrees. Other universities set their own policy, with some treating the TMUA as optional or recommended for economics instead of compulsory, so applicants should read the admissions-test guidance on each university's own course page and avoid assuming a single rule applies across the sector.

University admissions support from Taylor Tuition

Working through this material alongside regular A-Level study is easier with structured support, which is where A-Level economics tutors can help pace reading against the syllabus and coursework deadlines.

Most of the applicants we support come to us with a shortlist of courses and a test date, and the programme is built backwards from there: admissions-test practice first, then personal statement drafts, then mock interviews where the course holds them. The tutors are drawn from a pool that includes graduates of Russell Group universities including Oxford and Cambridge and experienced exam-board examiners.

Sessions run online for families across the UK and internationally, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check, families receive progress reports after sessions, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.

Read more about our university application tutoring, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.