Type of Qualifcation: A Level
Exam Board: Edexcel
Requirements: Grade 6 in English and Mathematics. Grade 6 in Business if applicable

A two-year course that focuses, in the first year, on building knowledge of core business concepts and applying them to a wide range of business contexts in order to understand how businesses work. The second year develops knowledge of more complex business concepts and looks at business from a strategic view of business opportunities and issues.

There are 4 Themes in the course: Theme 1 Marketing & People, Theme 2 Managing Business Activity, Theme 3 Business Decisions and Strategy, and Theme 4 Global Business.

 Paper 1: Marketing, People and Global Business

 2 hour examination / 35% of A Level

 Section A & B each comprise one data response question broken into a number of parts, including one open-response question

 This paper will draw from Themes 1 & 4

 

 Paper 2: Business Activities,

 Decisions & Strategy

 2 hour examination / 35% of A Level

 Section A & B each comprise one data response question broken into a number of parts, including one open-response question

 This paper will draw from Themes 2 & 3

 

 Paper 3: Investigating Business in a Competitive Environment

 2 hour examination / 30% of A Level

 This paper assesses across all four Themes

 Pre-release case study issued November of the previous year for the Summer exam

 Section 1 of the paper is on the broad context of the industry

 Section 2 will focus on one particular strand from the pre-release e.g. a particular business

 Further contextual information will be provided on the exam paper in addition to the pre-release context

 Students are NOT allowed to take any research notes into the exam

If you are interested in understanding what business is, what impacts on success and failure and how to take business decisions based on facts, then this is the course for you. Learning business theory allied to real life examples, you will be able to make those difficult judgements.

People who are interested in the world around them will find this course crucial as we will study how to improve business performance accross a wide range of subject areas, marketing, operations, finance, human resources and the setting of and measuring strategic change in an ever changing environment.

Stretch & Challenge – aiming for A*: There are many opportunities to extend learning gained both through directed study, industry visits and speakers and your own experiences and knowledge.

The subjects and transferable skills taught in business studies directly relate to the world of work and would give you a competitive advantage in a competitive careers market. Some options would include Business Consultancy, Marketing, PR, Communication, Management, Accountancy, and Advertising.

Course Booklet 2021