Business Studies is delivered as part of the Key Stage 4 curriculum offer. It provides students with a solid foundation to progress onto further study, either through post 16 vocational or A level courses, facilitating a pathway into higher academic study. It also offers support for students who choose to pursue apprenticeship routes. Business Studies provides students with the knowledge and skills to become a valued member of society, increasing their employability as they enter either the public or private sectors of work. It enables students to have the ability to think commercially and creatively to demonstrate business acumen.

The course ensures students obtain a secure understanding of how business works and how companies contribute to both the UK and global economies.  Numeracy and literacy skills acquired during Key Stage 3 are developed and enhanced to allow students to provide clear arguments on why business decisions are made and how financial performance is measured. Arguments based on case studies are debated orally and through extended written responses. Strategies learnt within the English Curriculum, and developed through subject specific techniques, support these responses.

Students are taught to respect and listen to each other when business decisions are debated. Students are constantly challenged to work collaboratively and think independently when engaging in all lessons and class debates. They are encouraged to take pride in their work and to develop their own portfolios that can be used for exam revision and re-capping of knowledge. Opportunities are given to students to run their own mini business, encouraging creativity and risk taking.

We see our key objectives as:

• Business in the real world including an understanding of how and why people run a business.  
• How business is influenced by external factors, including ethical and environmental considerations, and the role business has in contributing to the economy. 
• Human resources, where students will understand how business is organised, the importance of recruiting and selecting the appropriate staff and the importance of motivation and training for the success of an organisation. 
• Business operations, understanding production processes, procurement, customer service and quality.

• Marketing, where students will understand how business identifies, understands, and targets their customer base. This may be through advertising or other methods of self-promotion.  
• Business finance, investigating how a business raises finance, how they manage their cash, calculate profits (or losses) and use financial data to make judgements. 
• Using case studies.

As a department, we believe that Business Studies is important to a student’s programme of study as it:

• Teachers regularly use topical business scenarios and clips from current TV programmes including Dragons Den, The Apprentice, Inside the Factory and Undercover Boss.  The aim is to motivate students and show how the business world is ever changing and relevant to the students’ own lives.  
• Business inreases innovation and entrepreneurial skills, applicable to the wider world.
• There are clear cross-curricular links to English and Maths.  The extended writing and analytical skills learnt in English will be used and further developed extended writing. In terms of Maths, students learn how to approach financial calculations, such as calculating percentage change in business performance.

Learning Journey

Key Stage Four Programmes of Study

Exam Board - 

AQA GCSE Business Studies

Names and email addresses of key post-holders: