Business

Contacting the Team

If you have any questions or concerns about your child, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the Business team by leaving a message with Reception or by emailing our enquiry address.

We aim to respond to phone calls and emails as quickly as possible, and certainly within 48 hours. Please bear in mind that members of staff may have a day of teaching and may not be able to respond to non-urgent matters until the end of the Academy day or the following Academy day.

By telephone:      0121-464 2737 (main school switchboard)
By email:              enquiry@harborneacademy.co.uk

KS4 Business Studies

Business Studies is optional at Key Stage Four and is a popular choice with pupils. The following is key information regarding the course.

Exam board:
Pearson Edexcel Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in Business (1BS0)
Pearsons BTEC Technical level 1/2 Award in Business Studies - Syllabus & Past papers on the Pearson Website shown below.

Exam Information:
There is 2 external exams for GCSE Business
There is 1 external Synoptic element to the BTEC.
Unit 3- Promotion and Finance for Enterprise

GCSE Units:
Theme 1: Investigating small business
Theme 2: Building a business

BTEC Units:
Unit 1- Exploring Enterprises
Unit 2- Planning for and Running an Enterprise
Unit 3- Promotion and Finance for Enterprise

To achieve the BTEC level 1/2 Tech in Business, pupils must successfully demonstrate their achievement of all the learning outcomes and assessment criteria of the units.

Pupils must achieve a minimum of a pass in all the assessment within a unit in order to achieve a level 2 pass overall. If the work does not meet the level 2 criteria, then the student will achieve a level 1 Pass, Merit, Distinction or a “U” grade if they do not meet the criteria at all.

Students need to successfully PASS all units to achieve the qualification.

GCSE Theme 1 concentrates on the key business concepts, issues and skills involved in starting and running a small business. It provides a framework for students to explore core concepts through the lens of an entrepreneur setting up a business.

In this theme, students will be introduced to local and national business contexts and will develop an understanding of how these contexts impact business behaviour and decisions. Local contexts refer specifically to small businesses or those operating in a single UK location and national contexts relate to businesses operating in more than one location or across the UK.

Students must develop an understanding of the interdependent nature of business activity through interactions between business operations, finance, marketing and human resources, as well as the relationship between the business and the environment in which it operates. Students must understand how these interdependencies and relationships underpin business decisions.

GCSE Theme 2 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 emphasis on aspects of marketing, operations, finance and human resources. Theme 2 also considers the impact of the wider world on the decisions a business makes as it grows.

In this theme, students will be introduced to national and global business contexts and will develop an understanding of how these contexts impact business behaviour and decisions. National contexts build on those in Theme 1 and relate to businesses operating in more than one location or across the UK. Global contexts relate to non-UK or transnational businesses.

Students must develop an understanding of the interdependent nature of business activity through interactions between business operations, finance, marketing and human resources, as well as the relationship between the business and the environment in which it operates. Students must understand how these functional areas influence business activity and how interdependencies and relationships between them underpin business decisions.

GCSE Overall Year Plan:

GCSE Exam material:

You can access past exam papers for the GCSE Business studies by clicking on the link below.
Edexcel GCSE Business (2017) | Pearson qualifications

BTEC Exam material:
You can access past exam papers for the BTEC Tech Award in Enterprise by clicking on the link below.
Past exam papers

Careers information

Students can move onto A- Level Business and BTEC level 3 Extended Diploma in Business if they successfully complete this course.

Typical jobs with a Business qualifications:
•Business adviser
•Business analyst
•Chartered management accountant
•Corporate investment banker
•Data analyst
•Management consultant
•Operational researcher
•Project manager
•Stockbroker

Enrichment opportunities:

The Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge is an annual, national competition during which secondary school students aged 11-16 learn about establishing and running a business through a business simulation game.

Whilst this is an exciting competition in its own right, activities undertaken help to support schools’ curriculum objectives as well as further developing students’ confidence, employability and self-efficacy. Students

Also have the opportunity to compete for:

• £2500 prize money for their school
• £500 seed money to invest in a social enterprise benefiting the school
• Specialised mentoring from a private equity firm to help establish the business
• A winner’s trophy with the school name engraved
• Winners medals for each team member
• A once in a lifetime fun day out in London

Harborne Academy have taken part in the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge for 6 years and Triumphant at the Regional final four times.

Useful websites and books:

Useful websites to revise GCSE & BTEC Business studies:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/
http://www.businessdictionary.com/