SUBJECT: BUSINESS STUDIES YEAR 10/11

The GCSE Business Studies Course follows the NDTEF/EDEXEL Business Studies (Syllabus 2402)

The syllabus is taught through five units of work that must be completed before the end of the course. Each unit of work addresses one section of the syllabus content. The units are:

* Unit I Purpose and Types of Business Organisations

* Unit 2 Human Resources

* Unit 3 Sales and Marketing

* Unit 4 Accounting and Finance

* Unit 5 Production

Within each unit of work there will be a number of different assignments. Each assignment will address a different business context. Case studies are also used to provide students with the opportunity to practice their problem solving skills.

The assignments are designed to give students the opportunity to:

* Show how much they know and understand of the syllabus content.

* Carry out research from a wide range of sources.

* Interpret and use that research to solve a particular business problem.

* Develop their problem solving skills.

* Develop their evaluative skills.

* Make decisions.

* Draw conclusions on the solution to the particular business problem or activity.

Information Technology is seen as an integral part of this syllabus and students are expected to use IT as a tool throughout their coursework, as and when it is appropriate.

Each unit of work is marked out of 60. The marks are awarded according to the marking statements set out by the Examining Body. They include:

A: Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the specified subject content.

B: Select organise, interpret and use information from various sources.

C: Apply the specified terms, concepts, theories and methods effectively to address problems.

D: Evaluate evidence, make reasoned judgements and present conclusions accurately and appropriately.

Students' finished work can be awarded a maximum of 15 marks for each statement.

The syllabus consists of two components:

Coursework component 20%

Terminal examination 80%

- Case Study (40%)

- Written Paper (40%)

On completion of the 5 units of work a decision will be made on the one complete unit of work that will be submitted by the student as their Coursework. This unit may be supplemented with additional work from the other four units in order to demonstrate the student's best performance against the marking statements as a whole, over the two years of the course. It will be internally assessed and externally moderated.

Case Study: In the Spring Term of Year 11 a Research Brief will be set by the Examining Body which will identify areas of research to be carried out by the candidates. This leads to the Case Study that will be taken under examination conditions, lasting 1.5 hours, and will be externally assessed. The emphasis of this Case Study will be to test the knowledge and understanding of the students through a series of practical tasks and questions.

Written Paper: Also lasting 1½ hours this examination will test students knowledge and understanding of the work carried out during the two years of the course.

There will be two tiers of entry, Foundation and Higher.

Students will use a core textbook throughout the course, which will be either

* GCSE Business Studies by Pat Bond and Jill Martin or

* Business Studies for You by David Needham and Robert Dransfield.

These texts will be supplemented by videos, resource sheets, newspaper articles and a variety of other business studies textbooks as appropriate.