Business

Key Stage 4 Business

GCSE Business Studies

Why choose Business?

Do you have an interest in business and/or enterprise?  Do you want to know what makes a great entrepreneur and how people go about setting up their own businesses?  Do you want to get a better understanding of the world around you?

This course is both active and enjoyable. You need to be good at communicating and explaining your ideas, and not afraid of learning new things and working with numbers to solve business problems. You will learn how to be a creative thinker and how to make decisions. What’s more, you will also learn about the world of business through research and investigation, as well as through practical tasks.

What will I learn?

Theme 1 – Investigating Small Business

·         concentrates on the key business concepts, issues and skills involved in starting and running a small business

·         It provides a framework for students to explore core concepts through the lens of an entrepreneur setting up a business

Theme 2 – Building a Business

·         examines how a business develops beyond the start-up phase

·         It focuses on the key business concepts, issues and decisions used to grow a business, with an emphasis on aspects of marketing, operations, finance and human resources

·         It also considers the impact of the wider world on the decisions a business makes as it grows

How will I be assessed?

For each of the above Themes you will take a 90 minute written examination at the end of Year 11. Each paper will contain a combination of multiple-choice, short and extended answer questions. Each is worth 50% of the GCSE grade.

Exam Board: Pearson Edexcel

What can I do after I’ve completed the course?

GCSE Business can help you prepare for A Level courses as well as BTECs and NVQs in many different subjects. Many jobs you do will involve working for a business and a GCSE Business course could lead to work in a business-related profession such as accountancy, law, marketing or the leisure and tourism industry.

Website: http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gcse/gcse09/Business/Business/Pages/default.aspx

Other useful websites:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business
• www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk