Open letter to the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) from Dr Chris Colvin on behalf of the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH).

Belfast, 20 August 2026

Dear CCEA Chief Executive and Council Members,

I am writing on behalf of the Centre for Economics, Policy and History (CEPH) at Queen’s University Belfast to urge CCEA to reconsider its decision to withdraw GCSE Economics from its qualifications portfolio.

Economic literacy has substantial educational and civic value. Young people are growing up amid debates about inflation, taxation, public spending, productivity, housing, inequality and climate policy. Economics equips them to examine those questions systematically and to understand the trade-offs involved in public policy.

Northern Ireland, with its particular economic challenges and opportunities, should be expanding that capacity among young people. Indeed, CEPH was established as an All-Island Centre of Excellence in recognition of the need to deepen public understanding of economics and economic policy, not least by placing contemporary challenges in their historical context.

I welcome CCEA’s clarification that GCE Economics at AS and A-level will remain available. This is an important distinction. However, the withdrawal of the GCSE remains a serious concern. Under the announced timetable, final GCSE teaching will begin in September 2028 and the final award will be made in summer 2030.

Small numbers demand investigation, not withdrawal

CCEA has explained that the decision followed a review of qualification viability, including entry numbers and financial sustainability. The figures supplied to me show that GCSE Economics entries fell from 218 in 2022 to 172 in 2026. These numbers are undoubtedly small. But low participation does not, by itself, demonstrate that withdrawal is the right response. It should prompt an investigation into why participation is low and whether access can be widened.

GCSE Economics is a relatively small subject in both Northern Ireland and England, but its uptake appears appreciably lower in Northern Ireland. Ofqual recorded 7,760 GCSE Economics entries in England in 2024, while CCEA recorded 188 entries in Northern Ireland in the same year. The Westminster Department for Education counts 702,938 pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in England, and the Northern Ireland Department of Education counts  23,031 Year 12 pupils eligible for examination returns. This amounts to 11 entries per 1,000 pupils in England versus 8 per 1,000 in Northern Ireland.

The comparison is necessarily approximate because the entry and cohort figures are not perfectly aligned, but it raises an important question. Why is participation lower in Northern Ireland, and what structural impediments could CCEA address before concluding that the qualification is unsustainable?

The decision is more striking in light of the rapidly growing popularity of Economics at A-level in other parts of the UK. Ofqual’s provisional figures show that Economics became the fifth most popular A-level subject in England in 2026, with 46,365 entries, an increase of 10.7 per cent in a single year! A-level growth in Northern Ireland also appears healthy.

Protecting the pipeline into A-level Economics

The case for maintaining the GCSE pipeline is reinforced by CCEA’s own figures. Between 2022 and 2026, entries in GCE Economics rose: from 339 to 447 at AS level, an increase of 31.9 per cent, and from 263 to 311 at A2, an increase of 18.3 per cent. This growth suggests that demand for Economics in Northern Ireland is not disappearing. On the contrary, participation is rising at the next academic level just as CCEA proposes to withdraw an important route into it.

Pupils frequently choose their post-16 subjects on the basis of what they encountered and enjoyed at GCSE. Withdrawing the qualification through which many pupils first encounter Economics may therefore weaken future participation in the very GCE qualification that is currently growing and that CCEA has committed to retaining. Rather than risk reversing that progress, CCEA should identify barriers to GCSE provision, expand access and cultivate the pipeline into AS and A-level study.

It is true that schools may be able to offer GCSE Economics through another UK awarding organisation, such as AQA, OCR or Pearson Edexcel. In practice, however, changing examination boards is not frictionless. Schools may need new approval arrangements, teaching materials, schemes of work and staff training. Teachers and pupils must adapt to different specifications, assessment structures and grading practices, while schools absorb additional administrative and financial costs. Some schools, particularly smaller or less well-resourced ones, may decide that the simplest option is to stop offering GCSE Economics altogether.

We therefore ask CCEA to pause the planned withdrawal and publish the evidence underpinning its decision. This should explain the financial case for withdrawal, the distribution of provision across schools and communities, the consultation undertaken with affected groups, the alternatives considered, and the likely consequences for equality of access and future participation in AS and A-level Economics.

The decline in entries is a problem to be understood, not merely managed. Before removing GCSE Economics, CCEA should work with schools, teachers, universities, employers and pupils to identify the factors holding the subject back and develop a credible strategy for increasing participation. Withdrawal should be the last resort, not the starting point.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Chris Colvin
Associate Director for Outreach and Engagement
Centre for Economics, Policy and History
Queen’s University Belfast