Bank of England and FT launch student blog competition

The Bank of England and the Financial Times have launched a competition to find the best student commentary on economics.

Sixth formers across the UK have until April 15 to submit a 500-word article supported by data on the future world economy, in the style of the BoE’s Bank Underground blog, which is written by its own employees.

Winning entries will be published in the FT and on the blog.

The competition is run in partnership with FT for schools, a new programme offering free digital access to FT.com for 16-19-year-olds, their teachers and schools in the UK and around the world.

It comes as the BoE is seeking ways to communicate beyond specialists to a broader public.

Lionel Barber, editor of the FT, said: “We are strongly committed to improved knowledge, analysis and communication of business and economics. Through our free schools access programme, we are supporting the development of these skills to help students in their exams, interviews and future careers, and are delighted to partner with the Bank of England in the search for the best young writers.”

Mark Carney, governor of the BoE, said: “With almost half a million hits in the past year alone, Bank Underground has become an exciting outlet for Bank of England staff to share their ideas and research with a wider audience. Through this partnership with the Financial Times, we would like to open this platform to students so that they can give their views about the most important economic issues.”