In the Business department, we offer two courses: Applied and A Level Business. For A level Business, there is no coursework and for Applied Business it is a mix of coursework and exams.

Yes! Most of our students at A Level have never studied Business before – maybe because it wasn’t offered at their school. This is fine! We assume you have no prior knowledge of Business and start right at the beginning with such knowledge as ‘What is a business?’ and ‘what are the key characteristics of an entrepreneur?’

You need a genuine interest in businesses and the world outside of education. You need to be able to work individually or in groups to research into or discuss a particular business situation, questioning at every opportunity. Business complements all subjects because every student will be an employee at some point, whether as an engineer, a dancer etc, so will benefit from learning more about businesses.

A level Business is suitable to take with a wide variety of other A levels and / or BTECs. We attract many students who also take Sociology, Psychology, Law, Economics or Accounting but also a lot that take Maths or even creative subjects such as Textiles! For some, they feel it is complementing their current subject choice and may aid their university choice and for others they take the subject because it is a little different to the other subjects they are
studying. In the end, we recommend to students that they take the subjects that they think they will enjoy!

A level Business covers a broad range of topics. Many of our students go on to study Business at university. Business graduates work in various fields, such as advertising, public relations, accounting, banking, finance, Human resource management and many more. Even if entering a different field, employers will appreciate that you have a good idea of how a company works due to studying A Level Business, which should put you in an excellent
position to be a top candidate for the job. Apprenticeships (including degree level apprenticeships) are is another area where A Level Business students can be successful.

A lot of the content that you may have studied in GCSE Business will also be covered in the first year of A Level Business – but in a lot more detail and depth! There is a lot more focus on analysis and evaluation skills in A Level business. In the second year, the course gets broader with an international focus including topics such as strategy, change management and contingency planning. There will be loads more content covered! The key assessment objectives focus more on analysis and evaluation as the two years progress as well.

Yes, normally in Business we have a wide range of extracurricular activities including enterprise events and competitions, trips to local and national businesses, residential trips and speakers from the world of Business and Higher Education.

In Business, there is a mix between short answer questions (e.g. definitions) and longer, extended answers (e.g. 12 mark evaluation questions). The final paper also includes a 10 and 20-mark essay. In class, we will guide you through how to structure the answers to the types of questions you could expect in your exams, with special focus on command words and assessment objectives.

In Business, students will be required to perform basic calculations of things such as a percentage change or a firms level of profit this will make up a minimum of 10% of the overall A level marks. We will offer support to any student who feels they need additional support with numerical aspects of the course.

In Business, we have a large team of highly supportive staff, we have dedicated student support sessions as well as drop in sessions where students can seek additional help. In addition, we have tailored course materials and assessments so students can track their own progress.