Business

Year 10

GCSE Business (9-1)

Theme 1: Investigating small business

Topic 1: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship The

Dynamic nature of Business

Topic 2: Spotting a business opportunity 

Why this - Topic 1

Introduces students to the dynamic nature of business in relation to how and why business ideas come about. They also explore the impact of risk and reward on business activity and the role of entrepreneurship and the role and purpose of business activity.

Why now- Topic 1

This topic is studied first as it gives a general introduction to business and key concepts, and allows the business team to assess lots of basic skills for future teaching, e.g. student’s ability to read information, interpret it and apply it to answer questions, which is a vital skill throughout the business.

Why this - Topic 2

The intent of this topic is to focus on how entrepreneurs identify business opportunities that will enable them to produce the goods and services that will ultimately ensure their business survives and prospers.

Why now - Topic 2

Topic 2 builds on Topic 1 and looks at what happens once an entrepreneur has come up with an idea for enterprise. It begins by studying the importance of identifying and understanding customer needs and then looks at how to complete Market Research and why this is so important. Students then learn about market segments and how this impacts businesses.

Year 11

GCSE Business (9-1)

Theme 2: Building a business

Topic 2.1 Growing the business

Topic 2.2 Making marketing decisions

Why this -

In Theme 2 students will investigate how a business develops beyond the start-up phase. As students now have a good understanding of local and national business. The impact of business behaviour and decisions locally in Theme 1.

They will now be introduced to methods of growth and how

and why business aims and objectives change as businesses evolve. The impact of globalisation and the ethical and environmental questions facing businesses are explored.

Students will explore how each element of the marketing mix is managed and used to inform and make business decisions in a competitive marketplace.

Why now -

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.

Year 12

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Business (360 GLH) 601/7159/5

Unit 1 - Exploring Businesses

Unit 2 - Developing a Marketing Campaign

Why this -

Learners study the purposes of different businesses, their structure, the effect of the external environment, and how they need to be dynamic and innovative to survive.

In this unit, you will gain an overview of the key ingredients for business success, how businesses are organised, how they communicate, the characteristics of the environment in which they operate, and how this shapes them and their activities. You will also look at the importance of innovation and enterprise to the success and survival of businesses, with the associated risks and benefits.

Why now -

This unit is an introductory unit. It is fundamental to, and supports, all other units in the programme. Students learn real, practical skills for the business world. These include making presentations, completing group tasks, interpreting financial data, producing business documents and responding to tough business decisions, which prepare them for Unit 2, 3 and 8.

Year 13

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Business (360 GLH) 601/7159/5

Unit 3 - Personal and Business Finance

Why this -

Learners study the purpose and importance of personal and business finance. They will develop the skills and knowledge needed to understand, analyse and prepare financial information.

This unit includes aspects of both personal and business finance. Personal finance involves the understanding of why money is important and how managing your money can help prevent future financial difficulties. It is vital you understand the financial decisions you will need to take throughout your life and how risk can affect you and your choices.

Why now -

This unit will provide a foundation for a number of other finance and business units and will help you to analyse profitability, liquidity and business efficiency. It will give you the knowledge and understanding to manage your personal finances and will give you a background to business finance and accounting as you progress to employment or further training.

The assessment availability is twice a year in January and May/June. The first assessment for our students is January 2023. This unit is assessed by a written examination set by Pearson. The examination will be two hours in length. The number of marks for the examination is 80. (Section A contains questions on the personal finance unit content and approximately one-third of the marks, and Section B contains questions on the business finance unit content and approximately two-thirds of the marks).