Our intention is to develop in our students a curiosity about the world around them and an understanding of how businesses and the economy works. We encourage our students to consider the role of business and finance in wider society and to question how factors of production are allocated. We wish to promote an understanding of our place in the wider economic world and to prepare students for the various roles that they will play within it including as consumers, employees and potential entrepreneurs. Our students develop analytical and evaluative skills; we encourage them to question data and to be willing to explore the stories behind a headline or statistic. We aim to provide an environment where students have opportunities to develop key skills such as working in a group, giving presentations and conducting research, which contribute to success within a business environment. We are keen to improve financial literacy and ensure that our students develop a knowledge and understanding of key business and economic concepts including those relating to personal finance.

Course Content

We offer GCSE and A Level Business.

At GCSE we study the Edexcel course, covering:

• Enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Marketing, market segmentation and the competitive environment
• Business objectives and finance
• Start-up businesses including forms of business and business planning
• External influences on business.
• Business growth and globalisation
• Marketing decisions
• Operational issues such as production methods and sales
• Business calculations and analysis of data
• Human resources.

The department delivers part of the content through a business project, which enables the students to apply their learning to their own business idea. This culminates in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style presentation event at the end of Year 10.

At A Level we study the Edexcel course, covering four key themes:

• Marketing and people including entrepreneurship and leadership
• Managing business activities including raising and managing finance
• Business decisions and strategy including competitiveness and managing change
• Global business including globalisation and global marketing.

Testimonials

“Business lessons were one of my favourite lessons to attend at GCSE and have continued to be at A level. Personally, I enjoy learning about the in-depth planning, management and decisions that have to be made in order to have a successful business, whist also learning how to respond to downfalls or problems they inevitably will face. I especially enjoy relating the content to the case studies, as it consolidates my knowledge and makes it relevant to the real world. The interactive aspect of the lessons have helped me to feel more confident in my own understanding, and I have enjoyed listening to other people's opinions and ideas. Overall, I have found business lessons interesting and engaging, and they have inspired me to explore opportunities for the future where I can use and further my knowledge.”

Year 12 Business student

Co-Curricular

In Year 10, students have the opportunity to apply their learning to a project involving designing their own business. In Year 12, students put their business skills into practice through activities such as the ‘Ten Pound Challenge’ for which they are given a £10 initial investment, which they use to develop a business and raise money for a charity of their choice.

Greater depth

• Sound understanding of the wider economic and business context including UK and global issues.
• Confident recollection of key concepts covered to date.
• Strong analytical writing style, which builds up chains of reasoning and makes effective use of the case studies provided.
• Confident use of numerical data, including formulae, to analyse business performance (at an appropriate level for the course and point in the academic year).
• Evidence of ability to balance arguments and draw relevant conclusions.