GCSE Business | Key Stage 4 Overview

At Stoke Newington School, students can choose to study business as a GCSE option from Year 9. The course offered at SNS is Pearson Edexcel Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in Business (1BS0). The specification is structured into two themes, taking students from how entrepreneurs start businesses (Theme 1) through to growing and global businesses (Theme 2). There are two equally weighted exam papers, focusing on each specification theme.

Students will start by exploring the world of small businesses through the lens of an entrepreneur. How and why do business ideas come about? What makes a successful business? Students will learn how to develop an idea, spot an opportunity, and turn it into a successful business. They will understand how to make a business effective, manage money and see how the world around us affects small businesses and all the people involved.

Students will then move on to investigating business growth. How does a business develop beyond the start-up phase? They will learn about key business concepts and issues and decisions you need to make when growing a business and working in a global business. Students will learn about meeting customer needs, making marketing, operational, financial and human resourcing decisions and you’ll explore how the wider world impacts the business as it grows.

Examinations

  • The qualification will be assessed in two equally weighted exam papers. There is no coursework.
  • Paper 1 - Theme 1: Investigating small business (50% weighting – 90 minutes, 90 marks)
  • Paper 2 - Theme 2: Building a business (50% weighting – 90 minutes, 90 marks)

The Business Studies curriculum at Stoke Newington School is highly ambitious and designed to give all pupils the necessary knowledge and skills they need to live in the business-orientated world in which we live. It has also been designed to prepare pupils who wish to pursue both academic and vocational Level 3 courses in business and related areas for those who wish to begin an apprenticeship in the field of business or go onto university.

The curriculum is planned to develop knowledge and understanding of financial literacy. Pupils have opportunities to develop their financial awareness and to master the skills needed to analyse and interpret financial documents. The department has a clear plan for what pupils should know and be able to do in Business by the end of KS4 and KS5. Pupils are expected to be able to talk and write knowledgeably about business, enterprise, and the economy, using subject specific language accurately and confidently. They should be able to utilise Business specific skills such as making links between different units of work, analysing, and interpreting business case studies and understanding financial information and language.