Business Studies

Introduction

The Business Studies department is committed to providing all students with a solid understanding of the role that Business plays in the modern world.

KS4

Business
In GCSE Business, students have the option to study the AQA GCSE syllabus which enables them to apply their knowledge and understanding to businesses operating in local, national and global contexts. On this course students will develop an understanding of how these contexts impact on business behaviour.

Enterprise and Marketing
We also offer the OCR Nationals L1/L2 Enterprise and Marketing as a vocational option at KS4. This qualification will prepare students for further study in enterprise, marketing or business by helping them to develop their applied knowledge and practical skills in enterprise and marketing.

KS5

Business
A-level Business is taught through the Edexcel syllabus.  This course focuses on helping students to become good decision makers, where they learn essential managerial skills, alongside techniques to enable them to become analytical problem solvers.  These skills are all highly sought after and valued in a wide range of careers and at university.

We have also successfully introduced the OCR Cambridge Technicals in Business as our vocational equivalent to A levels.  These work-related courses prepare students with a range of skills and knowledge necessary to meet the challenges at Higher Education or employment.

Law
A-Level Law is also taught through the AQA syllabus. The course includes topics such as the nature of law and the English Legal System, Criminal law, Tort Law and Contract laws. The course will help students to think in a very logical way by breaking a problem into its component parts.  In many managerial positions, a basic understanding of law is a distinct advantage and law is a good option for students who wish to take a law, social science or business degree.

Enrichment Activities

Trips, guest speakers and conferences
Students have the opportunity to visit various organisations in the local area and nationally such as O2 Telefonica, Cadbury World, British Airways and the Bank of England. Some of our international visits have been to Disneyland Paris, Bruges and Ghent. Guest speakers from well-established businesses and organisations regularly visit our school in order to enrich students’ knowledge and experience by give talks about real life industrial issues. Our A Level students are also given the opportunity to attend conferences in  Business as well as external grade booster revision workshops such as those by Tutor2U. We have previously hosted a KS4 Enterprise conference in the school and we plan to build on this by developing and running further conferences in Business.

Competitions and fundraising
Students are encouraged to engage with a range of local and national business and enterprise competitions to enrich their studies and develop their skills and experience. This year students will be taking part in Tycoon in Schools, My Money Week and the IEA Budget Challenge.  In the past our enterprising Sixth Form students we have been able to raise over £2000 for various charities.

Teaching Staff

The Business Department consists of five experienced specialist teachers who are experts in the fields of Business, Economics and Law.  Within the department there is a Head of Department, a Deputy Head of Department and three specialist business teachers, two of whom are an Assistant Head Teacher and a Head of Year within the Sixth Form. The Business team enjoys working closely together to plan and teach outstanding lessons.

Facilities

Our department is a well resourced department, we have four dedicated classrooms, two of which are each equipped with twenty computer terminals.  Each classroom is fully equipped with high quality teaching and learning resources, including a range of excellent texts, a Clevertouch Plus screen and a visualiser to enhance lesson quality.  The department is also resourced with sixteen laptops which are bookable on a regular basis and we have four laser printers.

Qualifications

KS4

KS5

 

The Team