The Team

Introduction to the Department

In the Business and Vocational Department, we aim to tailor to individual learning needs. With a varied number of courses and styles of learning, we aim to match the student’s skills, academic abilities and professional targets to the courses they choose.

Key Stage 4 Information

In addition to the range of courses that we offer, all courses have an element of enterprise to encourage all students to add a business context to their studies. This is carried out via various enterprise activities and professional qualifications during the duration of their courses.

Courses offered:

• AQA GCSE Business Studies
• OCR Cambridge Nationals Enterprise and Marketing

GCSE Business Studies

In Years 10 and 11, students who opt to take GCSE Business have five lessons each fortnight.

Students will study the following units:

• Business in the real world – How do businesses start? Why do they decide to sell and where do they decide to do it?
• Influences on business – How different stakeholders can influence business in its decision making?
• Business operations – How do businesses decide the method with which to produce products? How do they keep an eye on the amount produced and the consistence of quality? Do they produce in the UK or go elsewhere?
• Human resources – How do businesses recruit the right people? How do they keep them motivated and how do they pay them or get rid of them?
• Marketing – How do businesses increase the sales of your product? How do businesses research the market, find a market and persuade their market to buy from them and not the competition?
• Finance – Where do businesses get their money from to start up, expand, pay their staff and buy resources? What happens if they run out of money?

Assessment will be via two 1 hour 45 min papers with 50% weighting each (there is no coursework element to this subject).

The exam board is AQA.

Further information:  

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/business-subjects/gcse/business-8132/specification-at-a-glance

OCR Cambridge nationals Enterprise and marketing

Students who opt for Enterprise and Marketing will  have five lessons each fortnight.

Students will study the following units:

R068 Design and Business Proposal (NEA)

R069 Market and Pitch a Business Proposal (NEA)

R067 Enterprise and Marketing Concepts (EXAM)

This is an exciting and challenging course. It will help to prepare you for an enterprising future by studying and practising knowledge, behaviours and skills related to researching, planning, pitching and reviewing an enterprise. It will enable you to develop your technical skills, such as market research, planning, promotion and finance – using realistic work scenarios and personal skills – such as monitoring your own performance, time management and problem solving – through a practical and skills based approach to learning and assessment. All businesses need enterprising leaders and employees to drive their organisations forward to have ideas and initiatives to promote growth, and to ensure that businesses survive in this fast changing world.

Cambridge Nationals - Enterprise and Marketing Level 1/Level 2 – J837