Plymouth College business and economics teacher, Jonathan Shields, has seen his name in print for the first time with the publishing of a leading GCSE text book.
Already a principal examiner for Edexcel’s Business and Economics GCSE, Jonathan was tasked with writing the standard core text for the course. Fifty thousand copies of the text book have been printed with 11 launch events around the country.
Also head of sixth form, Jonathan is more than qualified to write about the subject. Plymouth College has produced the top student in the country in this subject at GCSE, AS, A Level and Diploma in Financial Services many times in recent years – the ifs School of Finance presented the school with an Excellence in Education Award two years running in recognition of its achievement in the diploma.
In national competitions, Plymouth College has reached the final of the UK Student Investor five years in a row, winning in 2004, and has won the Share Forecast Challenge, Young Business Writer of the Year and the CIMA Management Competition (three times!). Young Enterprise also features strongly with Plymouth College teams winning the Plymouth competition four years in a row and the Devon competition twice.
“It’s quite surreal seeing the book in print at last”, said Jonathan. “I started writing in October so it’s been quite a few intense months for me as the writing had to be fitted in around teaching commitments. However, it’s a subject I’m very passionate about and I’m delighted that I have the opportunity to play such a key role nationally in the development and teaching of business and economics.
“The credit crunch has demonstrated more than ever the need for financial literacy amongst young people. It is reassuring to know that students who study these courses can leave school with a good grounding in business and economic issues and practises."
