Business Studies
Mission statement
- To help develop curious and entrepreneurial minds. This will help students to be more rounded, mature and ready for the world of work.
- To give all students the opportunity to debate and discuss social, moral and ethical issues that involve business and society. Our department tries to help students understand how small businesses are first thought up, planned and introduced.
- Students will then have an overview of how to grow a business, to include the four main functional areas of a business (finance, human resources, operations and marketing).
- Our subject works closely with the Careers department and there is some overlap with other subjects including: Politics, Geography, RS, Psychology, Sociology and Maths.
Key Stage 4
Curriculum Map
The link below allows you to see when topics may be covered; this is a guide for information only and has the potential to change as the year progresses.
GCSE Business (9-1)
Exam Board: Edexcel (1BSO)
Is this the right subject for me?
If you enjoy:
- Communicating and explaining your ideas.
- Thinking creatively and making decisions.
- Working with numbers to solve business problems.
- Learning about the world of business through real and relevant local and international brands.
What will I learn?
You’ll start by exploring the world of a small business through the lens of an entrepreneur:
- How and why do business ideas come about?
- What makes a business successful?
You’ll learn how to develop an idea, spot an opportunity and turn it into a successful business. You will understand how to make a business effective, manage money and see how the world around us affects small businesses and all the people involved. Then you’ll move on to investigating business growth. You’ll learn about meeting customer needs, making marketing, operational, financial and human resourcing decision and you’ll explore how the wider world impacts the business as it grows.
Topics studied in Year 10: Enterprise and entrepreneurship, spotting a business opportunity, putting a business idea into practice, making the business effective, and understanding external influences on business
Topics studied in Year 11: Growing the business, making marketing decisions, making operational decisions, making financial decisions, making human resources decisions.
How will I be assessed?
The qualification will be assessed in two equally weighted exam papers. There is no coursework.
- Paper 1: Theme 1-Investigating small business
- 90 minutes, 90 marks and 50% of the total GCSE
- Paper 2: Theme 2-Building a business
- 90 minutes, 90 marks and 50% of the total GCSE
Business has given me a greater understanding of the world around me. I am looking forward to being my own boss in the future with the skills I learn in class!
- Joseph, Year 10