Teaching Team:
Miss S. Culpan - Leader of Business | E-Mail
Mr H. Kutty | E-Mail
Have you ever considered why businesses exist? Or, thought about how many different kinds of business there are?Could you be a budding entrepreneur? Have you watched Dragons’ Den and thought “I could do better than that!” or shouted at The Apprentice candidates “You’re fired!” Maybe you hear the news about the British economy and want to know how it works and how you can try to make it better.
Your future will bring you into contact with so many different businesses either as a customer or an employee, maybe you intend to own and run your own business. BTEC Business Studies is an introduction to the core concepts and theories about how and why businesses act the way they do.
Learning Experience:
BTEC Business Studies is an exam-free alternative to GCSE, taking an engaging, practical approach to learning and assessment that will provide an industry-relevant qualification. It has been developed to recognise learners' skills, knowledge and understanding of Business purposes, functions, environments and operations. You will carry out a range of tasks that have been designed to recognise achievement in a modern, practical way that is relevant to the workplace.
BTEC Business Studies can be offered as Certificate, Extended Certificate or Diploma; depending on the number of units successfully completed.
Certificate: 90 guided learning hours
Extended Certificate: 180 guided learning hours
Diploma: 360 guided learning hours
The course is built from a portfolio of units. Compulsory units include:
Business Purposes
Business Organisation
Financial Forecasting for Business
People in Business
Optional units are selected based on student interest, they include such topics as: Doing Business Online, Starting a Small Business, Business Ethics.
Homework and Additional Learning:
Homework is set as required by the Unit being studied and to support students in meeting their coursework deadlines. The emphasis that this course places on coursework means it is imperative that you stay up to date by completing each unit assessment on time. It will therefore be necessary to complete and improve assignments outside of class time, as and when indicated by your teacher.
Additional learning opportunities arise from students’ interest in the subject. Watching the Business section of breakfast news, or looking it up online;
Following programs such as Dragons’ Den or the Apprentice; Starting their own Business, washing cars or repairing bikes for example, students would receive advice and guidance in starting and developing their business idea.
What can students do next?
Business Studies as a subject, whether taken as BTEC or GCSE, provides an introductory starting point for further and higher education in any range of business related courses. It will also prepare students for taking AS/A2 Levels and well as BTEC and NVQ Level3 courses in many vocational subjects.
Students become skilled in making decisions, being creative, solving problems, understanding finance, dealing with data, communicating, and working independently and as part of a team.
A qualification in Business can lead to work in a business-related profession such as accountancy, law, marketing or the leisure and tourism industry.
Grades A*-D
What do students study and how do they study?
This is a one year course designed to introduce students to the key points of business, from start-up through to multi-national corporations. Split into two units, students will cover:
Introduction to Small Business – This unit covers the key issues and skills involved in enterprise. The emphasis is on starting and running small businesses. This section provides a framework for looking at the marketing, financial, human and operational issues of starting and running a small business
Introduction to Economic Understanding – This unit raises a series of issues and problems of economic understanding, to provide a broad national and international perspective. It introduces the student to the ways in which economists think and practise, and provides vital skills to help them understand some of the burning issues of the day.
What coursework is required?
Coursework is assessed under controlled conditions. Students will be required to complete an assignment chosen from a list provided by the exam board and based on the Introduction to Small Business unit. They will be given a set time frame in school in which to complete all research and write-up.
Coursework is worth 25% of the final grade.
What examinations are there?
Paper 1 (45min)
– The Introduction to Small Business unit is then further assessed by a written examination paper with multiple-choice and objective test questions.
This is worth 25% of the final grade.
Paper 2 (90min)
– A second written paper is used to assess the Introduction to Economic Understanding unit. The questions will be a mixture of multiple-choice, data response, short answer, extended writing and scenario based questions.
This is worth 50% of the final grade.
What additional study is expected?
Additional learning opportunities will be set as appropriate. Tasks may include research, worksheets, examination practice questions, essays and source-based activities or presentations.
What can students do next?
This subject, whether taken as BTEC or GCSE, provides an introductory starting point for further and higher education in any range of business related courses. It will also prepare students for taking AS/A2 Levels and well as BTEC and NVQ Level3 courses in many vocational subjects.
Students become skilled in making decisions, being creative, solving problems, understanding finance, dealing with data, communicating, and working independently and as part of a team.
A qualification in Business can lead to work in a business-related profession such as accountancy, law, marketing or the leisure and tourism industry.
