A Level BUSINESS
Exam Board: Edexcel
Course name: A Level Business
General Information
Business is a subject we can all relate to. You are surrounded by business every day at home and at school. This course will help you understand the impact of business on us and our lives, and the factors which affect business. The course will help you not only develop your understanding of business, but all help you to develop your communication, analytical, problem-solving and logical thinking skills – all of which are highly valued by universities and employers. You do not have to have studied business at GCSE.
Course Outline
The course is structured into four themes and consists of three externally examined papers at the end of Year 13. Themes 1 and 2 are studied in Year 12.
Theme 1: Marketing and people
You will gain an understanding of meeting customer needs, the market, marketing mix and strategy, managing people and entrepreneurs and leaders.
Theme 2: Managing business activities
This theme focuses on raising finance, financial planning, managing finance, resource management and external influences.
Theme 3: Business decisions and strategy
In this this theme you will learn about business objectives and strategy, business growth, decision-making techniques, influences on business decisions, assessing competitiveness and managing change.
Theme 4: Global business
In this final theme you will gain an understanding of globalisation, global markets and business expansion, global marketing and global industries and companies.
Assessment
Three exams at the end of Year 13.
Careers and Higher Education Opportunities
The course can lead onto a degree in a business discipline and commercial apprenticeship schemes with business organisations. This A Level is suitable for anyone considering a career in the varied world of business.
Extra-curricular enrichment opportunities
Weekly after school drop in sessions run within the Vocational Faculty ensure all Business students are fully supported throughout the course. A number of whole school enterprise projects will be run during the year with the opportunity for sixth form business students to be mentors for lower school entrepreneurs. Visits to Alton Towers to learn about the business have also been used to support learning in class and sixth form students have the opportunity to get involved in Young Enterprise to help develop their business skills further.
A Level Economics
Exam Board: AQA
Course name: AS /A2 Economics
General Information
Economics is a social science which helps make sense of some of the major forces that affect our World. Economic knowledge and skills are essential for us to carry out our roles as consumers, workers and most of all, citizens of the UK and the World.
The media is full of economic issues which are not always easy to understand. At this time we hear on a daily basis about the crises affecting some of the Euro zone countries, the high rewards received by chief executives of certain companies, how living standards amongst the lower from our own economic crisis. In twenty years China will be the World’s biggest economy whilst India, Brazil and Russia record levels of growth far in excess of the more mature economies; what are the implications of this for the UK?
These issues will give you a flavour of what Economics is about. Apart from the content Economics will help you develop a particular and highly valued skill set:
- How to think and write like an Economist
- Analysis, evaluation and interpretation
- Team work skills
- Thinking creatively about real life problems (e.g. pollution, congestion)
How will you learn?
- Through working on challenging scenarios
- Discussion
- Teaching others (in your Learning Team)
- Linking what you are learning to the real world
- Using your skills and talents to best effect
- Developing good study habits
Course Outline
Year 12 AS
Two papers –:
Paper 1: The operation of markets and market failure
Paper 2: The national economy in a global context
Year 13 A2
Three papers-:
Paper 1: Markets and market failure (33.3%)
Paper 2: National and international economy (33.3%)
Paper 3: Economic principles and issues. (33.3%)
Careers and Higher Education Opportunities:
Economics opens up many pathways. Economists work for government and top firms. Economics journalism is a growing area. Organisations working to create a fairer World need Economists. Accountancy, finance and banking are obvious destinations for those with Economics qualifications but the skills you learn will equip you for all kinds of careers apart from the more obvious.
All of the major institutions of Higher Education offer Economics degrees either as BAs or BScs
Who can I ask for more information?
Miss Burrell, who can also put you in touch with some of the students currently studying the subject.
Extra-curricular enrichment opportunities
Regular support sessions will be available at lunchtimes, after school and break times throughout the course to help students with homework, projects and exam preparation.
A Level Retail Business
Exam board – WJEC
Course name – Retail Business Level 2 Certificate
General information
You will have the opportunity to explore various aspects of the running of a retail business and investigate a range of retailers from large chains and department stores through to independent and virtual stores.
Course outline
The course is made up of three units:
Unit 1 – Customer Experience
The purpose of the unit is to review the quality of the customer experience in a retail organisation. This unit is worth 25% of the course and is assessed internally via a controlled assessment.
Unit 2 – Retail Business
The purpose of this unit is to enable learners to propose business solutions for a range of issues in the retail sector. This unit is worth 25% of the course and is assessed externally via a written exam.
Unit 3 – Retail Operations
The purpose of this unit is for learners to apply their knowledge and understanding of retail operations to propose responses to change. This unit is worth 50% of the course and is assessed internally via a controlled assessment.
How will you learn
You will work independently learning how to work effectively as part of a group. Case studies will be used to develop your understanding of different business situations. Additionally, you will research and present your findings about realistic retail businesses and offer suggestion for improvements.
Career and further education progression
The course will support you in developing the skills needed for progression to further education, employment and training.
BTEC Business
Exam Board: Edexcel
Course name: BTEC National Extended Certificate in Business
General Information
The BTEC course allows students to gain a broad business understanding and range of skills applicable to modern organisations. Employers, universities, teaching professionals and trainers have contributed to the course so you can be confident that it contains the knowledge and employability skills needed for further study and career success. The qualification is equivalent in size to one A Level.
Course Outline & Assessment
You will complete 4 units of work. Two units are assessed internally as coursework portfolios, one unit is a pre-released case study assessment and one is a written exam.
Unit 1: Exploring Business – you will be given an assignment brief and you will work independently or part of a group to create a coursework portfolio.
Unit 2: Developing a Marketing Campaign – pre-released material includes information about a business for research. Learners will need to apply their knowledge, ideas and skills to plan a marketing campaign, linking its success to the impact on the business.
Unit 3: Personal and Business Finance – a written test will cover the purpose and importance of personal and business finance, including the skills and knowledge needed to understand, analyse and prepare financial information.
- The fourth unit, assessed internally, could cover:
- Recruitment & Selection
- Customer Services
- Market Research
- Law
The course will also help develop your employability skills including:
cognitive and problem-solving skills: use critical thinking, approach non-routine problems applying expert and creative solutions, use systems and technology
intrapersonal skills: communicating, working collaboratively, negotiating and influencing, self-presentation
interpersonal skills: self-management, adaptability and resilience, self-monitoring and development.
Careers and Higher Education Opportunities
The course can lead onto a degree in a business discipline, commercial apprenticeship schemes with business organisations or higher level BTEC studies. The range offered by the BTEC course makes it a suitable option for anyone considering a career in the varied world of business.
Extra-curricular enrichment opportunities
Weekly after school drop in sessions run within the Vocational Faculty ensure all Business students are fully supported throughout the course. A number of whole school enterprise projects will be run during the year with the opportunity for sixth form business students to be mentors for lower school entrepreneurs. Visits to Alton Towers to learn about the business have also been used to support learning in class and sixth form students have the opportunity to get involved in Young Enterprise to help develop their business skills further.
BTEC IT
ICT – BTEC Level 3 in Information Technology
Exam Board: Edexcel
Course name: BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Information Technology
General Information
This course is designed for learners who are interested in an introduction to the study of creating IT systems to manage and share information alongside other fields of study, with a view to progressing to a wide range of higher education courses. Learners will develop a common core of IT knowledge and study areas such as the relationship between hardware and software that form an IT system, managing and processing data to support business and using IT to communicate and share information.
How does the qualification provide employability skills?
Learners are encouraged to develop their skills in the following three main categories:
- cognitive and problem-solving skills: use critical thinking, approach non-routine problems applying expert and creative solutions, use systems and technology
- intrapersonal skills: communicating, working collaboratively, negotiating and influencing, self-presentation
- interpersonal skills: self-management, adaptability and resilience, self-monitoring and development.
Course Outline
The qualification is split into four units:
| Unit title | Assessment |
| Unit 1 – Information Technology Systems | External Assessment / Examination |
| Unit 2 – Creating Systems to Manage Information | External Assessment |
| Unit 3 – Using Social Media in Business | Internal Assignment |
| Unit 6 – Website Development | Internal Assignment |
Careers and Higher Education Opportunities
Students who successfully complete the qualification will be well equipped to move onto degrees, BTEC Higher National Diplomas and employment in related subjects such as ICT, Computer Science, Information Systems, Multimedia, Software Engineering, Computer Networking, e-Business and Information Management
Extra-curricular enrichment opportunities
Regular support sessions will be available at lunchtimes, after school and break times throughout the course to help students with homework, projects and exam preparation.