Business and Economics at Cambridge School of Bucharest: Building Financial Confidence for Global Money Week

Global Money Week offers an opportunity for schools to highlight the value of financial education and responsible decision making. At CSB, this initiative aligns closely with a long-standing commitment to developing financial literacy, economic understanding, and entrepreneurial thinking across the school community. Through academic programmes, student-led initiatives, and partnerships with leading institutions, CSB has built a culture where students learn how money, markets, and economic systems operate in the real world.

This culture, in turn, leads to university offers from such esteemed institutions as the London School of Economics, IE University, Bocconi University, King’s College London, the University of St Gallen, and University College London. Global Money Week at CSB Global Money Week is an initiative led by students, for students. In the first two years, current Year 13 students, Maria and Carla, led the programme. This hands-on experience earned these students exceptional offers to continue their Business and Economics studies at the universities of St Andrews, Bath, Warwick, and Edinburgh, among others. This year, a team of students is delivering peer-to-peer workshops for Secondary students. Sessions focus on age-appropriate financial topics, helping younger students build confidence in areas such as budgeting, saving, and understanding financial choices. The peer-led model allows students not only to learn but also to teach and communicate complex ideas clearly. Finance in Primary School Financial literacy at CSB begins early. This year has seen the introduction of the CSB Stock Exchange simulation for Primary students. Through this programme, pupils explore how the stock market functions in a simplified and accessible format. The simulation allows students to follow market activity, discuss investment decisions, and consider how companies grow and compete. Activities are adapted to the age of the students so that they develop an early awareness of economic thinking, making responsible and ethical decisions, while maintaining a playful and engaging learning environment. Learning Directly from Financial Institutions Real-world engagement plays a central role in CSB’s approach to economics education. Year 10 students visit the National Bank of Romania after studying monetary policy in the curriculum. During this visit, they take part in workshops focused on how monetary policy functions in Romania, explore the history of currency development, and tour the historic bank building. Students in Years 11-13 have also participated in workshops delivered by members of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. These sessions are linked to topics covered in class and allow students to connect theoretical knowledge with current financial practices. Excellence in Economics Competitions CSB has established a strong reputation in international economics competitions. For the past seven years, the school has hosted the national selection for the World Economics Cup, helping identify and prepare students to represent Romania on the world stage. The school also hosts the essay selection process for the International Economics Olympiad. Over the last six years, more than fifteen CSB students have earned medals at the International Economics Olympiad, demonstrating both academic excellence and strong analytical thinking. CSB also works closely with the Romanian Excellence Centre in Economics (RECE), which runs national centres of excellence in economics and business for students from both public and private schools each year and prepares students for national and international competitions and further academic studies.