Years 10 & 11 Curriculum - Business Studies

GCSE Business Studies

Exam Board: Edexcel CODE: 1BS0

Have you got some great ideas for new products or services? Or maybe you want to work for a large company in marketing or management?

GCSE Business Studies – Edexcel Single Award

The Business Industry is fast paced and ever changing. GCSE Business will give you a taste of what it might be like in industry and develop the necessary skills to be successful. Business Studies combines academic study with an understanding of the real commercial world. This course will enable you to see business from the point of view of the owners, managers, customers and employees. You will learn about the problems and decisions facing small and large businesses and identify what makes businesses a success or failure. You will understand how business people meet the challenges of the environment and identify what makes a successful entrepreneur.

Students will complete two external exams for their final grade. There is no controlled assessment. Excellent written English skills are vital to succeed in this course. Students are required to have excellent literacy skills due to the high examined content of this course, and that both exams include long essay answers.

What will I study and how will I be assessed?

The subject content for GCSE Business Studies is set out to try to match how the real business world operates. It will cover two core areas of theory:

1. Investigating Small Businesses: introducing students to entrepreneurship and the issues concerned with the setting up and operation of a business. The unit will be assessed by an external written examination of 90 marks and will be 1 hour and 45 minutes in length. It is worth 50% of the overall GCSE grade.
    
2. Building a Business: focuses on the growth of businesses and the issues that arise with expansion. The unit will, again, be assessed by an external written examination of 90 marks which is 1 hour and 45 minutes in length. It is worth 50% of the overall GCSE grade.

Through these two units of theory students will learn about different types of Business Organisation, Marketing, Business Finance, People in Business, Operations Management and Customer Service.

Both examinations will take place at the end of Year 11. Both exams are allocated one hour and 45 minutes per paper.

In Year 10, GCSE students work on the theory for the first exam. Students will be given clear advice on how to approach exam questions and will sit a mock exam at the end of Year 10.

In Year 11, students will work on the theory for the second exam. They will sit mock exams in the winter and the spring of Year 11 to prepare them for their final exams.

Students are graded 9 -1 on successful completion of the course.

Additional Information

Key speakers may be invited to speak to students about their experiences and opportunities available.

Course Entry Requirements

Students must have completed the Year 9 Business Studies course to be eligible for this qualification.

Due to the high examined content of this course, students must have achieved a grade 5H in their Year 9 Business Studies exam. They should have also completed all homework tasks in the Year 9 Business module. If students do not meet this criteria we will suggest the Enterprise course instead of the GCSE option.

Required Materials

Revision Guide

Enquiries to:

Mr Mawers – Subject Leader for Business Studies
Email: g.mawers@brookfield.hants.sch.uk