Business and related subjects including management and marketing are amongst the most common fields of study at universities worldwide. It is therefore no surprise that since introducing the subject into the Sixth Form, our Business Department has gone from strength to strength. The experienced and enthusiastic teachers help pupils to develop a whole host of transferable skills which are useful and relevant to almost every career.
Resources
The Business Department is housed in the listed Stableyard area of the College campus, with several dedicated classrooms. Business students often make use of a traditional 'boardroom'. Course content is invariably delivered interactively, with pupils making use of their own mobile devices to assist learning. Pupils bring their laptops into the classroom but the department also features some shared IT facilities.
Additional Opportunities
There are currently no examinations in business which suits students who prefer completing coursework tasks and working consistently towards their final grade over a prolonged period of time. The nature of the course helps pupils manage their own time and meet deadlines, which will become increasingly important at university and beyond. Furthermore, presentations and interviews are often filmed and assessed, providing a fantastic opportunity to work on these valuable skills.
Industry experts are often invited to the College to share their knowledge and experience on particular areas such as advertising and marketing. Pupils interested in setting up their own companies enjoy entering the Young Enterprise competition.
Curriculum
Year 10 and 11 students study the Edexel GCSE (9-1) in Business specification. The course is split into two themes; Theme 1: Investigating small business and Theme 2: Building a business. The GCSE is an engaging and inspiring qualification, which reflects the demands of a truly modern and evolving business environment. The qualification enables students to develop as commercially minded and enterprising individuals and helps them to succeed in their chosen pathway.
Sixth-Form students are offered the following two business course options.
AQA A' Level Business which covers the following subject content:
- What is business?
- Managers, leadership and decision making
- Decision making to improve marketing performance
- Decision making to improve operational performance
- Decision making to improve financial performance
- Decision making to improve human resource performance
- Analysing the strategic position of a business
- Choosing strategic direction
- Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies
- Managing strategic change
OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate in Business
This course is more vocational in nature and, as such, is assessed through a combination of exams and coursework. The following units of work are studied over the two years.
- Unit 1 The business environment (Exam)
- Unit 2 Working in business (Exam)
- Unit 4 Customers and communication (Coursework)
- Unit 5 Marketing and market research (Coursework)
- Unit 16 Principles of project management (Coursework)
Both courses will give students a solid foundation for a university degree studying Business, Management or Marketing. With the benefit of gaining valuable insights into businesses, and acquiring valuable 'soft skills', pupils will be well placed to compete in the employment market or start up their own enterprise.
For further details about any of the above courses, please contact Mr Ed Olhausen (Head of Business).