Business Studies

Our Vision:

INTENT

Business Studies is delivered as part of the Key Stage 4 curriculum offer. It provides students with a solid foundation to progress onto further study, either through post 16 vocational or A level courses, facilitating a pathway into higher academic study. It also offers support for students who choose to pursue apprenticeship routes. Business Studies provides students with the knowledge and skills to become a valued member of society, increasing their employability as they enter either the public or private sectors of work. It enables students to have the ability to think commercially and creatively to demonstrate business acumen.

Courses Provided: AQA GCSE Business and Cambridge National Enterprise and Marketing

Both ensure students obtain a secure understanding of how business works and how companies contribute to both the UK and global economies. Numeracy and literacy skills acquired during Key Stage 3 are developed and enhanced to allow students to provide clear arguments on why business decisions are made and how financial performance is measured. Arguments based on case studies are debated orally and through extended written responses. Strategies learnt within the English Curriculum, and developed through subject specific techniques, support these responses.

The Cambridge National Enterprise and Marketing course encourages students to develop the practical skills and applied knowledge they will need in the business and enterprise sector. Students put their learning into practice and develop valuable transferable skills, beneficial if they are considering starting up their own enterprise or business.

In both courses, students are taught to respect and listen to each other when business decisions are debated. Students are constantly challenged to work collaboratively and think independently when engaging in all lessons and class debates. They are encouraged to take pride in their work and to develop their own portfolios that can be used for exam revision and re-capping of knowledge. Opportunities are given to students to run their own mini business, encouraging creativity and risk taking.

IMPLEMENTATION

Pathway One: AQA Business Studies (GCSE)

Duration: 2 years

In Year 10, students begin with business in the real world, giving them an understanding of how and why people run a business. This leads on to how business is influenced by external factors, including ethical and environmental considerations, and the role business has in contributing to the economy. They will then investigate human resources, where students will understand how business is organised, the importance of recruiting and selecting the appropriate staff and the importance of motivation and training for the success of an organisation. Finally, students will cover business operations, understanding production processes, procurement, customer service and quality.

In Year 11 topic areas include marketing, where students will understand how business identifies, understands, and targets their customer base. This may be through advertising or other methods of self-promotion. They will also focus on business finance, investigating how a business raises finance, how they manage their cash, calculate profits (or losses) and use financial data to make judgements. Finally, students will revisit all 6-topic areas to help build revision resources with a focus on using case studies to develop exam technique.

Pathway Two: OCR Enterprise and Marketing (Cambridge National)

Duration: 2 years

This is a vocational course rather than the traditional GCSE and is graded using Pass, Merit and Distinction awards, holding the same value as the traditional GCSE grades. The vocational qualification is simply a different style of study for students who would benefit from a mixture of coursework and examination rather than 100% exam based assessment at the end of year 11. It is considered of equal standing by sixth form providers and will therefore provide the same opportunity for further study as GCSE.

In Year 10, students are introduced to the world of enterprise by designing and launching a product specific to the assignment set by the exam board. Students will start their first coursework module, which is to design a business proposal. Later in year 10, students will also complete the second coursework module; to market and pitch a business proposal. Students will cover all exam content in Year 11. Topic areas covered across this course will include finance, marketing, business ownership and start-ups, business risks and contingency planning. Students will sit the exam in January of Year 11. There is also an opportunity to resit the exam in May of Year 11, if required.

The two coursework modules comprise 60% of the final grade. Coursework modules must be completed in school, before the end of year 10, under the supervision of their teacher. Students are given guidance but must complete the coursework independently. The written exam makes up the remaining 40%. Students are also encouraged to access the online platform of Google Classroom to support with their learning for the exam and coursework units.

Pathway One and Pathway Two

Within both courses, teachers regularly use topical business scenarios and clips from current TV programmes including Dragons Den, The Apprentice, Inside the Factory and Undercover Boss. The aim is to motivate students and show how the business world is ever changing and relevant to the students’ own lives. Teaching resources, lesson plans and ideas are shared across the department to ensure consistency and maximise innovation.

There are clear cross-curricular links to English and Maths. The extended writing and analytical skills learnt in English will be used and further developed extended writing. There is also collaborative work with the maths team who advise on techniques to support financial calculations, such as calculating percentage change in business performance.

Students have 5 x 1 hour lessons per fortnight and after school revision sessions are also provided for both courses.

IMPACT

Pathway One: AQA Business Studies (GCSE)

Impact is measured via a combination of low stakes testing focused on knowledge retrieval and formative and summative assessments concerned with the application of knowledge. Planned weekly terminology focus on the acquisition of key business vocabulary and topic knowledge. End of unit assessments retest this base knowledge through application and extended writing, ensuring knowledge has been retained and significant progress has been made. All questions used to assess students’ ability to are taken from AQA past exam papers to secure strong examination technique. Past papers are also adapted and used for end of year tests to enable teachers to give accurate data predictions and to put interventions in place where necessary.

Pathway Two: OCR Cambridge National Enterprise and Marketing (Vocational)

In Cambridge National, written communication skills will be developed through the coursework modules and within the exam unit. Verbal communication skills will also be required when it comes to pitching product ideas in the second coursework R069. Design work is required in R068 when developing a new product idea and maths skills will be required when completing key calculations, like those for costs, revenue, break-even and profit. Both coursework modules must be submitted at the end of year 10 before the final exam can be taken in Year 11.

Pathway One and Two

Individual teachers keep mark sheets to track the progress of students across the course, however these will be centrally located with the Head of Department for monitoring and early intervention purposes. Students and parents are informed according to the school policy, where exceptional progress has been made. Similarly, if there are concerns that a student is not achieving expected progress, to help ensure there is an improvement in effort and attitude where necessary.