Business does what it says; we study businesses and how they operate. The approach to the course is less theoretical than Economics and involves studying how today’s businesses carry out their various functions - including marketing, finance, people and operations management. The course looks at how external factors a ect businesses (such as competition, consumer demand, the activities of pressure groups and ethical issues) and how businesses react to them. It also draws together the business functions and the external environment to study the objectives and strategies that businesses adopt. In the second year of the course there is a strong focus on global business, and the course content becomes increasingly contemporary and there are multiple opportunities to extend learning beyond the syllabus. The course also allows students to relate to their experiences with Young Enterprise and other extra-curricular activities.
Students should be equipped with good written communication skills. Students should have the ability to use a variety of sources of information including textbooks, reference materials, government and business data, the internet and their own knowledge and experience of business. Business also requires a reasonable level of numeracy and for this reason candidates need to have achieved a grade 6 in GCSE Mathematics.
There are three externally examined papers and all of these papers have the same structure: • Each one comprises two sections • Students answer all questions from both sections • Sections A and B each comprise one data response question broken down into a number of parts, including one extended open-response question • Duration: 2 hours • 100 marks available Paper 1: Marketing, people and global businesses 35% of the total qualification Overview of content: Paper 1 will assess marketing, people and global businesses and questions will be drawn from Themes 1 and 4, and from local, national and global contexts. Paper 2: Business activities, decisions and strategy 35% of the total qualification Overview of content: Paper 2 will assess business finance and operations, business decisions and strategy. Questions will be drawn from Themes 2 and 3, and from local, national and global contexts. Paper 3: Investigating business in a competitive environment 30% of the total qualification Overview of content: Paper 3 will assess content across all four themes. Questions will be drawn from local, national and global contexts. For Paper 3, there will be a pre-released context document issued on the Edexcel website in November of the previous year. A new context will be given to centres each year and will relate to the examination series for the following summer. The context will focus on a broad context, such as an industry or market in which businesses operate. The question paper will be in two sections. The first section will focus on the broad context provided. This will be outlined to centres through the pre-released document. Questions will focus on the broad context. The second section will focus on at least one strand within the context provided, such as a particular business. Each section will contain unseen stimulus materials comprising quantitative and qualitative evidence. Students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding from Themes 1, 2, 3 and 4 and their understanding of the broad context to this evidence. Students cannot take any of their research or investigation data carried out as part of the pre-release into the examination
About Education Provider
| Region | South East |
| Local Authority | West Sussex |
| Ofsted Rating | |
| Gender Type | Co-Educational |
| ISI Report | View Report |
| Boarding Fee | £31,800 - £34,275 |
| Sixth Form Fee | £10,200 - £26,400 |
| Address | College Lane, Hurstpierpoint, Hassocks, BN6 9JS |
Business does what it says; we study businesses and how they operate. The approach to the course is less theoretical than Economics and involves studying how today’s businesses carry out their various functions - including marketing, finance, people and operations management. The course looks at how external factors a ect businesses (such as competition, consumer demand, the activities of pressure groups and ethical issues) and how businesses react to them. It also draws together the business functions and the external environment to study the objectives and strategies that businesses adopt. In the second year of the course there is a strong focus on global business, and the course content becomes increasingly contemporary and there are multiple opportunities to extend learning beyond the syllabus. The course also allows students to relate to their experiences with Young Enterprise and other extra-curricular activities.
Students should be equipped with good written communication skills. Students should have the ability to use a variety of sources of information including textbooks, reference materials, government and business data, the internet and their own knowledge and experience of business. Business also requires a reasonable level of numeracy and for this reason candidates need to have achieved a grade 6 in GCSE Mathematics.
There are three externally examined papers and all of these papers have the same structure: • Each one comprises two sections • Students answer all questions from both sections • Sections A and B each comprise one data response question broken down into a number of parts, including one extended open-response question • Duration: 2 hours • 100 marks available Paper 1: Marketing, people and global businesses 35% of the total qualification Overview of content: Paper 1 will assess marketing, people and global businesses and questions will be drawn from Themes 1 and 4, and from local, national and global contexts. Paper 2: Business activities, decisions and strategy 35% of the total qualification Overview of content: Paper 2 will assess business finance and operations, business decisions and strategy. Questions will be drawn from Themes 2 and 3, and from local, national and global contexts. Paper 3: Investigating business in a competitive environment 30% of the total qualification Overview of content: Paper 3 will assess content across all four themes. Questions will be drawn from local, national and global contexts. For Paper 3, there will be a pre-released context document issued on the Edexcel website in November of the previous year. A new context will be given to centres each year and will relate to the examination series for the following summer. The context will focus on a broad context, such as an industry or market in which businesses operate. The question paper will be in two sections. The first section will focus on the broad context provided. This will be outlined to centres through the pre-released document. Questions will focus on the broad context. The second section will focus on at least one strand within the context provided, such as a particular business. Each section will contain unseen stimulus materials comprising quantitative and qualitative evidence. Students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding from Themes 1, 2, 3 and 4 and their understanding of the broad context to this evidence. Students cannot take any of their research or investigation data carried out as part of the pre-release into the examination