Business

Implementation

The Year 10 journey begins with students learning about enterprise and entrepreneurship. They are introduced to the dynamic nature of business in relation to how and why business ideas come about. Students also explore the impact of risk and reward on business activity and the role of entrepreneurship. This leads on to spotting a business opportunity in which students will explore how new and small businesses identify opportunities through understanding customer needs and conducting market research. They will also focus on understanding the competition. We then move on to students learning about putting a business idea into practice. This topic focuses on making a business idea happen through identifying aims and objectives and concentrating on the financial aspects. This leads on to making the business effective, in which students will explore a range of factors that impact on the success of the business, including location, the marketing mix and the business plan. We end the year with students learning about external influences on business – students are introduced to a range of factors, many of which are outside of the immediate control of the business, such as stakeholders, technology, legislation and the economy. Students will explore how businesses respond to these influences

The Year 11 journey begins with students learning about growing the business – students are introduced to methods of growth and how and why business aims and objectives change as businesses evolve. The impact of globalisation and the ethical and environmental questions facing businesses are explored. This leads onto Making marketing decisions – students will explore how each element of the marketing mix is managed and used to inform and make business decisions in a competitive marketplace. We then move on to students learning about making marketing decisions – students will explore how each element of the marketing mix is managed and used to inform and make business decisions in a competitive marketplace.  This then leads onto making financial decisions – students will explore the tools a business has to support financial decision making, including ratio analysis and the use and limitation of a range of financial information. We end the year with students learning about making human resource decisions – growing a business means that decisions relating to organisational structure, recruitment, training, and motivation need to be made to influence business activity. Students learn about the each of these topics and how they support business growth. The remaining time this term will be dedicate to revision and recall, as well as exam practice.

The Year 12 journey begins with students being introduced the Theme 1 & 2 of the AS course. This involves learning about how businesses meet customer needs using methods such as market research and online retailing. This then leads onto looking at factors affecting the supply and demand of a product or service. Students will also be learning about suitable sources of finance when starting and growing a business, as well as the importance of financial planning for business survival. We then move on to students learning about the marketing mix and strategy which includes topics such as methods of promotion and branding. To further build on their knowledge students will then be taught about the importance of managing people, including recruitment, selection, and training, as well as organisational structures. Students will also be learning about managing finance, focusing on topics such as profit, liquidity, and business failure. This will lead on to learning about production, capacity utilisation, stock control and quality assurance. We end the year with students completing the concluding topics which involves them learning about entrepreneurs and leaders, the role of an entrepreneur, business objectives, forms of business, business choices and moving from entrepreneur to leader. Students will also be learning about external influences such as economic influences, legislation, and the competitive environment.

The Year 13 journey begins with students being introduced to theme 3, business decisions and strategy and theme 4, global business.  Students will develop their understanding of the concepts introduced in Theme 2 and explore influences on business strategy and decision-making. They also develop their understanding of the concepts introduced in Theme 1 and explore business activity in a global context. We then move on to students learning about corporate influences and corporate culture. They will discover the conflicts that can arise between different stakeholder groups, as well as the trade-offs between profit and ethics. Students will then be introduced to global marketing strategy and global localisation (globalisation). They will also be taught about the importance of recognising cultural diversity when building a global brand. We end the year with students completing the final topic in theme 3, focusing on how businesses manage change.  The remaining time this term will be dedicate to revision and recall, as well as exam practice, to best prepare for the final A level examinations.

Cultural Capital & Enrichment

We strive provide students with a range of enrichment opportunities which contributes towards nurturing happiness, a love of the subject and consequently academic success.

School trips to long standing businesses/organisations such as Jaguar Land Rover, Alton Towers, Chester Zoo bring learning to life in real-world environments.

We also arrange local entrepreneurs to come in and speak to our students to give them an understanding of the attributes required to be a successful businessperson.  This has proved to be very inspirational for our students as they can see local men and women taking risks, working hard, and achieving success in their businesses.

In addition, we have arranged workshops from HMRC to not only inform students for business purpose, but also to equip them with the life-skills that they require.  Students have also attended a workshop run by The Insurance Institute of Liverpool. This gave them an opportunity to make decisions based on different scenarios and the risk factors associated with them, as well as hearing about the different routes that can be taken into the insurance industry. 

We take students to externally run revision workshops that we hope will further enhance our students’ examination skills. We give students the opportunity to go to a set of revision workshops, usually run by Tutor2u, as we believe that they provide an excellent, additional experience which complements what we provide for our students in school.

The business department also offers our students an opportunity to travel further afield with trips to Barcelona, looking at how theme parks and the tourist industry works. We also have a trip to Disneyland Paris to look forward to, which students will learn about how the largest theme park in Europe markets itself and operates…. obviously, the students will also have lots of fun there too!

We facilitate a range of educational visits and experiences including:

• Visit Jaguar Land Rover
• Barcelona
• Chester Zoo
• Disneyland Paris
• The Good Business festival

Progression Routes

If you are looking for a career in business and want to develop skills and understanding that are directly relevant to the business world, then this qualification is for you. This course enables us to develop enterprising individuals with the ability to think commercially and creatively to demonstrate business acumen and draw on evidence to make informed business decisions. It also incorporates many transferable skills and encourages independent learning. The course will help build the skills, knowledge and understanding of business that are needed to continue studying and to start work. The skills and experience you will gain are vital to succeed in the business environment, thereby enhancing your employability within the business sector.

Students can progress from this qualification to higher education courses such as business management, business administration, accountancy and finance, human resource management, marketing, retail management, tourism management and international business.

Also, a wide range of careers ranging from banking, sales, product management and general management to working in public sector organisations or charities.

Some potential progression routes from Business success are:

• Business management
• Accountancy
• Banking
• Sales manager
• Product management