Business Studies helps pupils to engage in the study of business and economics to develop as effective and independent pupils who can act as critical and reflective thinkers with inquiring minds. 

They will be able to distinguish between facts and opinion and build arguments and make informed judgements.  The course will develop their knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues in a range of local, national and global context and they will begin to appreciate the range of perspectives of different stakeholders in relation to the business and economic activities.  They will also learn to consider the extent to which business and economic activity can be ethical and sustainable.

Key Stage Four

Business and Economics (Edexcel)

The main theme of the Business unit is the start up of a new business and the use of enterprise and creative thinking to spot new business opportunities, thus leading to the creation of business plans with aims and financial estimations.  They will explore the marketing of a new product or service to understand how this will attract new customers and maintain their loyalty.  They will also understand the impact of the economic climate of the small business survival.

The themes that run through the Economics unit are learning to think like an economist, appreciating that price allows buyers and sellers in the market to make decisions, but these decisions have a trade off and may produce externalities.  They will learn about exchange rates, inflation, unemployment and global shocks and how this affects the growth of the economy our standards of living, equality and international trade.

The Sixth Form

In the Sixth Form, the School teaches the Applied GCE Business (Double Award). This gives the following opportunities:

You will explore the aims and objectives of a business, the needs of customers and how these are met through the marketing mix.  You will investigate how businesses deal with competition.

You will study the roles and responsibilities of people in business ad the qualities an employer looks for in its employees.  They will also look at the importance of training and development.

You will be assessed on your ability to calculate business costs, revenues and hence profits and be required to know how managers use this information in decision-making.  You will have to understand how to plan financially and how to draw up cash flow forecasts.

You will have to understand how businesses effect customer satisfaction and the decision businesses need to make on the quality of their goods and the level of after-sales services.

You will investigate and use a range of business communication and information systems in order to plan their wok and administrative tasks for a business; you will plan your work appropriately to meet business deadlines.

You will look at the opportunities available to you as a job seeker and the types of jobs which are likely to suit your personal skills profile and the skills and knowledge you have acquired from your studies to date.

You will produce a structured business plan for a new product or service that could be presented to an external lender.

You will investigate how businesses combine promotional activities into a promotional mix that will be successful at completing the businesses aims.

You will investigate how the marketing environment helps to determine the marketing strategies of profit and non-profit businesses.

You will look at the different types of management styles and how they impact upon the way in which a business operates and the impact on the staff who work for it.

You will look at the practical steps a business has to make to respond to the changes which they face.

You will understand the fundamental accounting concepts and terminology adn give you an overview of bookkeeping.

Outside of the Classroom

We aim to make visits to different business locations in order to help support the units as required, particularly those assessed by coursework.  In the past we have visited Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, Thorpe Park and The Tower of London.  We also have outside speakers to come into lessons to maintain our business links and to support the applied nature of the course.  Mr Tom Flynn from Business Solutions comes in once a week to mentor and offer guidance to our students with their course.