Caroline Elliott, an Old Hymerian (1986–1988), is a Professor in the Economics Department at the University of Warwick. She kindly gave her time recently to speak with our Hymers Business Society. At Warwick, she is the Academic Director of the Social Sciences Connect Programme, and externally she serves as a member of the Government Regulatory Policy Committee and as Deputy Director of The Economics Network.

Caroline has previously held academic posts at the Universities of Aston, Huddersfield, Lancaster and Manchester. Her research focuses on applied industrial economics, with published work examining firms’ advertising, quality signalling and pricing decisions, as well as their responses to regulation and competition policy investigations. She has also contributed to research in applied education economics and pedagogy.

Caroline joined Hymers Sixth Form after leaving Wolfreton. Following her A Levels, she went on to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford, graduating with a BA, and later completed a PhD in Economics and Econometrics at the University of Manchester.

We were delighted to welcome Caroline back to school, and her insight and wisdom were greatly appreciated by our next generation of Hymerians. She answered a wide range of student questions about degree choices, university pathways and module selection. Our students particularly enjoyed hearing her anecdotes from her time at Hymers, including how she recently rediscovered her old school reports. She shared that a single school assembly inspired her to change course from her original aspiration of pursuing a music career to applying to Oxford. Caroline spoke with great admiration for her Hymers Economics teachers and the important role they played in shaping her academic journey.

Caroline generously shared her contact details with students who wished to learn more about the application process for Warwick. We are extremely grateful for her time. Her warmth, enthusiasm and clear passion for Economics shone through, and our students were truly inspired by her visit.