Pupils at Al-Ashraf Secondary School will study GCSE business in Year 10 and 11. The subject is first taught at KS4 which means that students come with different levels of background knowledge. However, many pupils will have had some experience of enterprise prior to this through partaking in school fundraising activities. In addition, pupils will have had acquired relevant previous knowledge in other subjects. The mathematics curriculum, in particular, uses finance as a context for carrying out calculations. Therefore, pupils will be familiar with best buy calculations and percentage profit from their study of mathematics. Although not necessarily in business context, pupils should be familiar with (from their mathematical study) calculations involving percentages and percentage changes, averages and working with money. Interpretation and use of quantitative data is another skill outlined in the Key Stage 4 business curriculum. Pupils will have come across different types of graphs and charts and its interpretation during Key Stage 3 mathematics and prior study, which serves as a basis to support, inform and justify business decisions. Elements of human geography taught at Key Stage 3 including economic activity and international development are relevant to business at Key Stage 4. Outside of school, pupils’ prior knowledge of business is likely to have come from media sources.
In Year 10, pupils study Theme 1: Investigating Small Business wherein pupils learn about key concepts, issues and skills of business through the lens of a start-up and small business entrepreneur in local and national contexts.
In Year 11, pupils progress onto Theme 2: Building a Business. Building a business examines how a business develops beyond the start-up phase. It focuses on the key business concepts, issues and decisions used to grow a business, with an emphasis on aspects of marketing, operations, finance and human resources. It also considers the impact of the wider world on the decisions a business makes as it grows. In Year 11, as pupils’ business knowledge expands, students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding to different business contexts, namely businesses operating in national and global contexts.
Through active engagement and increased authority, business students at Al-Ashraf Secondary School are better able to develop as enterprising individuals. Integrated within the business curriculum is an opportunity for Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils to partake in the 10X Challenge, an annual competition supporting young people to develop an enterprising mindset and prepare for the world of work as they see what business they can create with just £10 and 4 weeks. Through participation, pupils develop a range of transferrable skills ranging from adaptability, communication, confidence, creative problem solving and team work. Subject specific skills include developing a commercial awareness: pupils develop their ability to undertake research in developing a broader understanding of an organisation and the wider environment, which is invaluable for further study in this discipline.
This qualification in business will:
Students can progress from this qualification to a number of different academic and vocational qualifications at Level 3, including A levels in Business, History, Geography, Economics and Psychology and BTEC Nationals in Business.
The knowledge and skills gained from GCSE Business support students’ entry into employment or other training in specific aspects of business, such as apprenticeships and vocational qualifications which focus on more specialised business areas.
GCSE Business provides a strong foundation for employment, with students progressing, with further training, to a wide range of careers such as accounting, sales, product and general management, marketing and human resource management. It also provides a good background for all jobs and is useful for those who want to start their own business.
The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to:
Through studying this qualification students will:
Business decision making Through studying this qualification students will:
For business studies, Year 10 pupils are taking part in the 10x challenge where they received ten pounds to start a business.
We are participating this year in the 10X Challenge, a national competition for young people aged from 11 – 19 years.
Year 11 have been studying the topic ‘Making marketing decisions’ and have created a video in pairs advertising a product of their choice.
https://www.tutor2u.net/economics/blog/my-top-30-books-for-economics-and-business-reading-in-2017
https://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/
https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/seneca-certified-resources/business-gcse-edexcel/
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/business
