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Business Studies Overview

"The best investment you can make,
is an investment in yourself...
The more you learn, the more you’ll earn"
Warren Buffett

 

The Business Studies department's key focus is developing enterprising minds, this is about inspiring students to become enterprising and commercially minded individuals. The curriculum at Whitefield School is highly ambitious and designed to give all students 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. The Business curriculum is planned to develop knowledge and understanding of financial literacy. 

Students have opportunities to develop their financial awareness and to master the skills needed to analyse and interpret financial documents. Business GCSE provides a launch pad for further study in business, economic, commerce and accounting. It provides students with the necessary skills to succeed and become well known employees within their chosen fields. 

Students 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.

 

 

Impact

  • Business GCSE provides a launch pad for further study in business, economic, commerce and accounting. It provides students with the necessary skills to succeed and become well known employees within their chosen fields. ​

Implementation

  • ​High expectations in Business knowledge and literacy

  • Aspirational target setting

  • High quality assessment

  • Home learning

  • University visits

  • Careers based trips

  • One to one discussions

Business Studies Curriculum Overview

Business Studies Curriculum Overview

Key Stage 3–5 progression across Years 9 to 13

Year 9

Business Activity

  • Goods and Services
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Risk and Reward
  • Aims and Objectives
  • Business Plan
  • Ownership
  • Stakeholders
  • Business Growth

Marketing

  • The Role of Marketing
  • Market Research
  • Market Segmentation
  • The Marketing Mix: Product, Price, Place, Promotion

People in Business

  • Human Resources
  • Organisational Structures
  • Ways of Working
  • Communication in Business
  • Recruitment and Selection
  • Motivation and Retention
  • Training and Development
  • Employment Law

Operations

  • Production Processes
  • Quality of Goods and Services
  • Customer Service and Sales
  • Consumer Law
  • Business Location
  • Working with Suppliers

Finance

  • Role of the Finance Function
  • Sources of Finance

Year 10

Same topics as Year 9, explored in more depth and applied to case studies:

  • Business Activity
  • Marketing
  • People in Business
  • Operations
  • Finance

Year 11

Influences on Business

  • Ethical and Environmental Considerations
  • The Economic Climate
  • Globalisation

Interdependent Nature of Business

  • Operations, Finance, Marketing, HR
  • Decision-making and Impact
  • Use of Financial Information

Revision Lessons

  • Memory Recall
  • Exam Techniques
  • Practice Case Studies
  • Past Paper Practice
  • Assessment and Feedback

Year 12

  • Unit 1: The Business Environment – Exam (120 GLH)
  • Unit 2: Working in Business – Exam (60 GLH)
  • Unit 4: Customers and Communication – Coursework (60 GLH)

Year 13

  • Unit 5: Marketing and Market Research – Coursework (60 GLH)
  • Unit 2: Working in Business – Resit if needed
  • Unit 8: Introduction to Human Resources – Coursework

Extended Reading List

Recommended Reading

Key Stage 3

  • Shoe Dog by Phil Knight – the story behind Nike

Key Stage 4 / 5

Academic

  • OCR A Level Business by Andy Mottershead, Alex Grant & Judith Kelt
  • Business Essentials by David Hall, Rob Jones & Carlo Raffo
  • How to Read Financial Reports by John A. Tracy

Fiction / General Interest

  • The Everything Store by Brad Stone – Amazon and Jeff Bezos
  • The Apprentice (TV series) – good for competitive business thinking

Useful Links

Additional Resources

Extra Curricular Activities

Key Stage 3, 4 and 5

  • Young Enterprise Company Programme – Students run a real business over the course of the year.

  • Business & Economics Club – Weekly discussions, quizzes, competitions, and occasional guest speakers.

  • Investment Challenge / Stock Market Games – Learn how markets work through interactive simulations.

  • Debate Club – Develop persuasive skills and critical thinking, useful for business scenario evaluation.

Trips

  • Tour of the London Stock Exchange

  • Visits to multinational companies or corporate HQs (e.g., Jaguar Land Rover, Amazon)

  • University taster days in Business or Economics

  • Entrepreneurship Conferences or Career Fairs

  • Local business incubators or innovation centres