Mayfield Grammar School, Gravesend
Business Studies
What do you need to start a business?
Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.
Dave Thomas, founder: Wendy’s
We aim to inspire students to understand the importance of enterprise and the nature of the business world. Our Business curriculum enables students to have the ability to think analytically and creatively to demonstrate business acumen. Students will be aware of the impact of business in the real world and are capable of using a specific taught toolkit to analyse real life business situations and environments whilst being able to present their own findings to an audience of their peers.
Key Concepts
A-Level Business (Edexcel) consists of four themes including marketing and people, managing the business, business decisions and strategy and global business.
Theme 1: Marketing and people
Students will develop and understanding of the market, from supply and demand to the characteristics of entrepreneurs.
Theme 2: Managing business activities
This represents the more operational side of businesses and those students who are interested in the functional running of a business will learn a great deal from this theme. Topics covered within it include raising, planning, and managing finance as well as resource management and the effect of external influences.
Theme 3: Business decisions and strategy
Students will learn about business objectives, reasons for growth, decision making techniques and managing change.
Theme 4: Global business
This theme brings the course together, and places business in a global context. We consider the role of increasing globalisation on business as well as the rise of the multinational corporations. We will examine the importance of trade and evaluate protectionism.
Key Skills
Analysis in a business context (SWOT, PESTLE, ANSOFF, PORTERS etc)
Evaluation of the economics and business situation
Reasoned judgement explaining cause / consequence
Awareness of current business developments
Data handling and evaluation of the data
Confident and appropriate use of business terminology
Presentation skills in a business context
What is taught?
Students are taught in strands which stretch across the four themes from the Edexcel syllabus. This enables them to make the links across the four areas more explicitly within their studies. Students will have built upon the key concepts introduced in year 12 and be able to make thematic links between all four themes across the two years.
Students investigate, analyse and evaluate business opportunities and issues. Building on this, and by using both qualitative and quantitative methods, they are encouraged make reasoned judgments and recommendations.
Students will be able to research a specific market/industry and apply subject knowledge to answer a series of market/industry specific questions within the synoptic paper 3.
In the second year of study, students develop an understanding of current global issues that impact on business, preparing them for their next steps in today’s global world.
Business Studies Curriculum Map
Academic Literacy in Business Studies
We want to develop students’ ability to write analytically developing reasoned and justified applied arguments. To develop this we:
- Embed extracts about real life businesses throughout our curriculum and model application, analysis and evaluative skills within the process;
- Explicitly teach key Business vocabulary during our lessons;
- Guide students towards relevant articles and weekly share;
- Analyse up to date business case studies.
Students are encouraged to extend their interest in Business Studies by…
Keeping up to date with the news, reading books, listening to podcasts, watching popular television programmes which centre around the way in which businesses work. Some examples are:
- Keeping up to date with the news on a weekly basis.
- Reading journals including The Economist and Business Review.
- Reading books about entrepreneurs and successful multinational companies.
- Listening to podcasts such as Entrepreneurs on Fire, The Tim Ferriss Show and Wake up to money.
- Watching popular television programmes which centre around the way in which businesses work.
Enrichment Opportunities
To work with younger years to help develop entrepreneurial skills as part of the LEAP project.
Join the whole school Newspaper Club to appreciate the real world of Business.
Careers Guidance and Support for Business Studies:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/business-management