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Next steps · Updated 13 November 2026

After A Levels.

Two routes running side by side: bank and finance degree apprenticeships, and a UCAS application for Economics, Finance or Management in 2027.

01Snapshot

Year 13, Wilson's School
Predicted A Levels AAA Economics, Maths (OCR), Chemistry. Review in late November; aiming for A* in Maths and Economics.
AS Levels AABB Economics A, Chemistry A, Maths B, Physics B. Economics was 6 marks above the A boundary. Physics dropped after AS.
GBEO Round 2 One of 10 students out of 190 at school to qualify.
GCSEs 4 × 9 11 subjects, grades 9 to 1. Full list below.
Qualifications

A Levels (exams 2027)

EconomicsA predicted
Maths (OCR)A predicted
ChemistryA predicted

AS Levels

EconomicsA
ChemistryA
MathsB
PhysicsB

GCSEs (9–1)

Biology9
Business Studies9
French9
Religious Studies9
Maths8
English Language8
Chemistry8
Physics8
History8
English Literature7
Music6

02Degree apprenticeships

All in finance, accounting or corporate banking
EmployerProgrammeStatusNext stage
HSBC Finance / corporate banking (title to confirm) Simulate done Waiting to hear back
Lloyds Banking Group Accounting Professional and Finance Degree Apprenticeship. 5 years, BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance plus CIMA Applied Online assessments, then assessment day
Barclays Finance / corporate banking (title to confirm) Applied Nothing received yet
Accenture Finance / accounting (title to confirm) Applied Nothing received yet
Citi On the original list Undecided Decide whether to apply
How to pitch it

For the banks

Lead with results, commercial awareness and teamwork: predicted grades, GBEO, and the paid MathsGenie work to a client's brief. The AI and content work backs that up but isn't the headline.

Accenture is a consultancy, so there it's more about problem-solving, technology and client-facing teamwork.

CV

One current version

The Lloyds Accounting and Finance CV is the version to use. It shows predicted AAA, the name Ayaan Shaikh, @camran.mathsgenie, and "1,000,000+ views across all content over the last year".

The old PDF (A*AA, old handle, wrong footer name) is out of date and shouldn't go anywhere.

03University (UCAS 2027)

Submitting after the predicted-grades review
Five choices

Courses

  • 01
    BathEconomics
  • 02
    BristolEconomics and Management
  • 03
    WarwickEconomics and Management
  • 04
    LSEManagement
  • 05
    SouthamptonEconomics
Personal statement, v2

Economics-led

Rewritten after school feedback that v1 read as a management application and needed more maths and outside evidence. It's built around one question: how far can a seller push prices before buyers stop accepting them?

  • FIFA 2026 dynamic pricing and the team's Young Economist of the Year pricing model
  • GBEO Round 2
  • easyJet vs Wizz Air decision trees (University Preparation Programme)
  • Lectures: Klaas Knot on the ECB, Spencer Banzhaf on de-growth, applied maths
  • Next Generation Economics Competition essay on solar microgrids
  • Spirit Airlines' bankruptcy as a test of the pricing ideas
  • Gold CREST airport redevelopment project

04Super-curriculars

What I did, and what I took from it
Competitions
  • Young Economist of the YearTeam pricing model for FIFA 2026 tickets. Concluded dynamic pricing should apply only to premium hospitality.
  • GBEO, Round 2One of 10 out of 190 at school. Applying theory to unfamiliar problems under time pressure.
  • Next Generation EconomicsEssay arguing solar microgrids let developing countries leapfrog fossil-fuel grids.
Lectures
  • Klaas Knot, ECB Governing CouncilHow AD/AS reasoning led to very different policy across the Eurozone crisis and the inflation surge.
  • Spencer Banzhaf, de-growthChallenged my assumption that growth and the environment are always in conflict.
  • Applied maths seriesThe same randomness models used in markets, biology and AI.
Projects
  • easyJet vs Wizz AirDecision trees comparing internal growth with a merger. Concluded easyJet should keep scaling internally.
  • Spirit AirlinesTested my pricing ideas against its bankruptcy: good pricing can't save a firm that can't control costs.
  • Gold CREST airport projectLed operational planning, including a Gantt chart for procurement and the timeline.

05Key dates

  • Late Nov 2026Predicted-grades reviewPredictions can only go up. Update the CV and forms afterwards.
  • After the reviewSubmit UCASLate applicant in the school's internal cycle
  • 13 Jan 2027UCAS deadline
  • Summer 2027A Level exams

06Interview prep

Points to talk through, not scripts to memorise
HSBC

Why HSBC?

  • The programme: four placements and a degree that's applied straight to the work.
  • The business: HSBC has been narrowing its focus by selling or exiting businesses and concentrating on four core ones.
  • Q3 2026 results: profit was up 32%, but the shares fell about 6% because revenue missed forecasts and last year's one-off legal charge flattered the comparison. Be ready to answer "would you buy the shares?"
  • Me: working to a client's brief at MathsGenie, Economics as my strongest subject, GBEO.
HSBC

What excites me about the role?

  • Financial analysis and credit papers: moving from looking at businesses from outside to helping decide whether to lend to them.
  • Working across Credit, Risk and Legal: links to keeping design and delivery joined up on the airport project.
  • Know a credit paper: what the business does, its financials, how it repays, the risks, and the security.
  • Don't lead with "the degree" or "the salary". Those are benefits to me, not the job.