Spencer Dale came home today to meet economists of the future and an old friend from the past – his former a level economics tutor.

AROUND 130 Exeter College students were proud to welcome back to the city the Chief Economist of The Bank of England as he spent an afternoon with them talking about how he came to be where he is today.

Spencer Dale first studied Economics as a teenager at Exeter College before continuing his education at the University Of Wales, where he obtained a BSc in Economics, and then Warwick University, where he completed his Masters in the subject.

Those attending the lecture given by Spencer in the College’s Centre For Creative Industries (CCI) Building and question and answer session which followed were a mixture of A level Economics, Business, and Accounting students, and students preparing for entry into some of the country’s top universities through the College’s new Reach Academy, as well as pupils from local schools Isca, South Dartmoor, and Tiverton.

Richard Taylor, who taught Spencer Economics while he was an A level student at Exeter College from 1984 to 1986, said: “It has been a real pleasure to meet Spencer again. He was an exceptional student and always did seem destined for great things.

“It is wonderful to see that he has made it to the top of his profession. To be a member of the Monetary Policy Committee is an outstanding achievement and I feel extremely proud to have taught him.”

As to the benefits today’s event would bring to the College’s present-day students who attended this afternoon’s lecture, he continued: “This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to meet on of the country’s leading and most influential economists, even more so because they know that he was once a student at Exeter College too.”

Spencer, for whom the visit brought back fond memories, added: “It was a real pleasure to come back and meet both old friends and the next generation of students who have every potential to step into my shoes in the future. “