Business
Key Stage 4
What will students learn?
Business teaches students about how businesses operate and what makes them successful. It requires them to write in depth and solve numerical problems to justify and evaluate business concepts.
Whilst in Year 10 students will be introduced to the world of small businesses and will look at what makes someone a successful business person. They will find out how businesses develop an idea and spot an opportunity, then turn that idea into a success. They will understand how a business operates effectively and manages money. Students will also see how the world around us affects small businesses and all the people involved in them.
Year 10 work is based around these business concepts:
- Enterprise and entrepreneurship
- Spotting a business opportunity
- Putting a business idea into practice
- Making the business effective
- Understanding external influences on business
In Year 11 students will study how businesses grow and the key functions or departments in a business, then look into the influences from the world that surrounds them.
Year 11 topics are:
- Growing the business
- Making marketing decisions
- Making operational decisions
- Making financial decisions
- Making human resource decisions
How will students be assessed?
- Two exam papers that each last 1 hour 45 minutes; both are worth 50% of the GCSE.
- One exam is on the knowledge covered in Year 10, and the other on the knowledge covered in Year 11.
- The exams predominantly comprise of medium length to long written answers with some multiple-choice questions and calculations.
How will students be taught?
Students will learn how to make business decisions and about the world of business through research and investigation, as well as through practical tasks. Learning is predominantly through individual-based tasks with some elements of group work. The subject lends itself to class discussions and the use of video in places. GCSE business students will be expected to keep themselves up to date with business news and current topical events in order to effectively enhance their studies.
Examination board & course type
Edexcel – GCSE Business (1BS0)
Progression
Business is a successful and popular GCSE subject and leads naturally to A Level in either Business Studies or Economics. At Advanced level, the subjects are chosen by a large number of students and particularly those who are considering professional careers in occupations such as accountancy, banking, insurance, hotel & catering, tourism, retail and general management.
Revision Advice
A subject specific guide featuring key content, recommended resources and the specifications we cover in that particular subject can be downloaded below:
Teacher to contact for further information
Mrs N Daglish