Business

Curriculum Statement

The GCSE award in Business Studies is designed to familiarise students with the world of businesses starting with generating business ideas and the routes to starting a small business.
Students will explore, develop and apply their knowledge helping to develop key transferable skills such as research and data analysis to support their progression to further learning and the workplace.
Students forming business plans
Throughout the course, we use named businesses to support students understanding of the business world. Students use local and national businesses and case studies to look at how businesses are created and the challenges that they face.
In theme 2 they then build on this knowledge by looking at how businesses grow and expand as well as a the new challenges that this can bring.
Investigating and researching these businesses is an exciting and interesting opportunity to broaden student horizons and promote our ethos of successful life long learners, responsible citizens and active and responsible citizens.

View our Enterprise Learning Journey

KS4 (GCSE Business)

Theme 1

Theme 1 concentrates on the key business concepts, issues and skills involved in starting and running a small business.

Students must develop an understanding of the interdependent nature of business activity through interactions between business operations, finance, marketing and human resources, as well as the relationship between the business and the environment in which it operates. Students must understand how these interdependencies and relationships underpin business decisions.

Theme 2

Theme 2 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 emphasis on aspects of marketing, operations, finance and human resources. Students must develop an understanding of the interdependent nature of business activity through interactions between business operations, finance, marketing and human resources, as well as the relationship between the business and the environment in which it operates. Students must understand how these functional areas influence business activity and how interdependencies and relationships between them underpin business decisions.

Assessment

KS4: Two external exams, 90 minutes each

Homework

KS4: Homework is given out during the exam periods in preparation for the externally assessed unit 

Support at Home

 

Additional Support in school and/or resources

Teachers will offer support outside of lessons and students are free to use ICT facilities at lunchtime to work on coursework 

Extra-Curricular

Business Studies visits to Leeds to investigate the business environment.  

Guest speakers from the world of work visit UWS