Business Studies

Nature of the Subject: 

Business prepares students for a pathway into many different subject areas. Students become skilled in making decisions, being creative, analysing and solving problems, understanding finance, dealing with data, communicating and working as part of a team.  We live in a corporate world thus business is a universal subject. There are few, if any, careers for which an understanding of business would not be of some benefit. 

• To equip students with the skills to apply knowledge and understanding to contemporary business issues and to different types and sizes of businesses in local, national and global contexts.
• To understand business concepts, business terminology, business objectives, the integrated nature of business activity and the impact of business on individuals and wider society.
• To provide students with the opportunity to develop as enterprising individuals with the ability to think commercially and creatively to demonstrate business acumen, and draw on evidence to make informed business decisions and solve business problems.
• To allow students to investigate and analyse real business opportunities and issues to construct well-argued, well-evidenced, balanced and structured arguments, demonstrating their depth and breadth of understanding of business.

Design

For KS4: 

Collaborative, detailed and thorough curriculum planning lies at the heart of what we do in the department. We use all available resources and teaching strategies to ensure that students have a comprehensive knowledge of the specifications and are capable of going beyond what is taught in lessons. Techniques to help develop long-term memory and help students master subject content are embedded in the curriculum. These are focussed on embedding challenge, metacognition, memory techniques, numeracy and literacy into our departmental curriculum. 

For KS5:

The specification is dynamic and engaging, taking a holistic approach to the subject and investigating and analysing a wide range of contemporary business issues. It includes relevant topics in today’s society such as digital technology and e-commerce, business ethics, international business and globalisation. The programme provides a worthwhile and interesting course and the material studied will be valuable for candidates intending to pursue careers in any area of business. No matter what the vision of the student, this course will provide a powerful start to launch a business or to become a successful business person.  All the key topics of starting and running a business are covered and the department results reflect a strong team of teachers and highly committed students. 

Delivery  

For KS4

Students will follow the specification for Business GCSE receiving 3 lessons a week.  

We also implement our curriculum through using a variety of teaching strategies and kinaesthetic tasks as well as more traditional skills practice. All staff in the department make full use of the Google Classroom and all students use this to access the departmental resources both in lessons and remotely. 

Lessons may involve teaching & learning of content, skills development, examination practice, student presentations etc

In summary students will learn to: 

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of business concepts and issues

• Apply knowledge and understanding of business concepts and issues to a variety of contexts

• Analyse and evaluate business information and issues to demonstrate understanding of business activity, make judgements and draw conclusions

For KS5

Students are taught all the units and topics specified on the A Level specification. Based mostly on the specification order, topics are deliberately sequenced so that students benefit from a logical flow of learning and are able to identify links and connections across differing topics. Students will follow the specification for Business A-level receiving 5 hours of lesson time a week. Lessons may involve teaching & learning of content, discussion, skills development, examination practice, student activities (independent and paired), business news sessions and student presentations. 

In summary students will learn to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of terms, concepts, theories, methods and models to show an understanding of how individuals and organisations are affected by and respond to business issues

• Apply knowledge and understanding to various business contexts to show how individuals and organisations are affected by and respond to issues

• Analyse issues within business, showing an understanding of the impact on individuals and organisations of external and internal influences

• Evaluate quantitative and qualitative information to make informed judgements and propose evidence-based solutions to business issues