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Preference Subject
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This popular course offers students an insight into the dynamic and highly
relevant world of business activity and behaviour. The skills and knowledge
learnt are transferable to the working environment and are appealing to
prospective employers. The GCSE course leads on to A Level Business and
Economics courses which, in turn, is good preparation for University courses.
What is Business Studies?
The course is changing from September 2009 but the core of knowledge and skills learnt
remainssimilar. Students start by studying issues concerning the setting up and
operation of a business. They explore the activities of businesses and the reasons
for their success or failure. Topics covered include:
Business start ups: Who has the ideas, takes the risks and enjoys the benefits?
Marketing: How do businesses let potential customers know about their products and
how do they know what to produce?
Finance: Where does the money required come from to start and expand businesses?
People in business: How do businesses decide who to employ and how do they
recruit, train and retain them?
Operations management: How do businesses organise production or service provision?
In Year 11, candidates study businesses as they grow and the issues that expansion raises.
They also carry out research in order to present ideas for setting up the business which
must provide a service that meets a local need. Throughout the course, students will
undertake a wide range of activities including:
Group and individual work
Internet research
Face-to-face research
DVD analysis
Discussion and debate
Role-play
Skills particularly important for success include analysis, evaluation and communication.
It is this, combined with the study of a constantly changing business environment, which
provides useful preparation for life after school.
Applied Business Single Award involves the study of two units across the two years of the
course.
Unit 1:
This unit is an investigation into what business enterprise is about, including organisation
of business and human resources. ‘Ethical’ and ‘green’ issues will also be considered.
Unit 2:
This unit focuses on the financial aspects of running a business, looking at balance sheets
and other financial documents.
Assessment:-
Edexcel is the awarding body for this GCSE and the units are assessed as follows:
Unit 1 is assessed through coursework which will be completed in school under controlled
conditions following research both inside and outside of lessons.
Unit 2 is assessed by an examination.
How is the course assessed?
In Year 10, students sit a 45 minute examination with multiple choice and objective
questions worth 25% of the overall GCSE. They also undertake a piece of coursework
worth 25%.
In Year 11, there is a 90 minute exam with multiple choice, data response and
case-study based questions worth 50% of the main GCSE.
