Ks4 Overview 

KS4 Business

Year 9-11

Course Description and Subject

In OCR GCSE Business you will learn about a number of key areas that are important to make a business successful. It is important that you have an interest in business, whilst no prior knowledge is necessary it helps if you are aware of what is going on in the wider world. You will learn about the structure of businesses, the markets they operate in and how they deal with the competition. We will also cover production, finance, human resources and decision making. This is a traditional GCSE and assessment will be based on two examinations at the end of year 11.

Career Possibilities

The many areas studied provide a useful platform from which to explore a range of career opportunities:

• Preparation for AQA A-Level Business
• Preparation for Cambridge Technical Level 3 in Business
• Preparation for a range of Business related careers such as accountancy, retail management, marketing, warehousing and logistics, banking and human resources management.

Pathway Through the Curriculum

Course Structure There are 6 units of study over the duration of the course. There are 2 external examinations which account for 50% each.

Progression Leads to A-level Business or OCR Technical

Links for Specification:

OCR GCSE:
https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/business-j204-from-2017/

KS5 Overview

Aim of the Course

Students in year 12 and 13 will have an opportunity through applied learning to develop the core specialist knowledge, skills and understanding required in the business sector.

Course Summary 

Students will take five units: three mandatory units and two optional units. There are 2 externally assessed exams and 3 internally assessed pieces of coursework to complete. Everybody will study the following mandatory units:

• The business environment
• Working in business
• Customers and communication

The business environment, will give students an understanding of the wider external contexts in which businesses operate and of internal business functions and their interdependencies. The unit will allow them to appreciate how legal, financial, ethical and resource constraints can affect business behaviour and the influence that different stakeholders can have and how businesses must respond.

Working in business, will give them an understanding of the type of critical skills needed when working in business, such as organisation, prioritisation and effective communication. The unit will allow them to learn how to use different business documents and about organisational protocols that most businesses would expect employees to follow.

Customers and communication, will allow students to appreciate how vital customers are to the success of a business. It will give them an understanding of how important it is for businesses to know their customers and what influences customer behaviour. In this unit, they will understand how to communicate with customers.

The optional units cover a wide range of topics to give them the opportunity to take a unit that is relevant to a specific aspect of business; for example, marketing, accounting, human resources or business planning.

Career Prospects 

This, combined with other qualifications, will provide students with the skills, knowledge and understanding to progress into Higher Education (HE) on a business-related programmes such as Business, Business Management, Marketing, Business and Finance, Business and Economics and Accounting. It will also allow them to choose non-business related degree programmes or take them into employment where they would continue to study.

Students will develop transferable skills that are valued by HE and employers such as:

• communication
• planning
• teamwork
• research
• analysis.

Links for Specification:
https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/cambridge-technicals/business/