Years 10 – 11

As the world is becoming increasingly globalised, with diverse workforces, advancements in technology, booming e-commerce and a focus on sustainability in the commercial world; GCSE Business provides students with a detailed understanding of how a business survives in a dynamic environment. The course looks at how businesses function at a micro level as well as how they are influenced by external factors.

The focus of GCSE Business is to critically analyse the decisions that Businesses have to make from an operational, tactical and strategic perspective. The study of Business therefore develops decision making skills in our students. By looking at case studies from small, medium and large businesses, students will learn how to overcome common business issues, tackle internal and external challenges businesses face and engage in discussions which allow for active debate on the best course of action for a business to take. 

Studying Business will enable students to develop a range of skills including making informed decisions, data analysis and academic writing as well as scenario based learning, teamwork and developing their understanding of the world of work. 

Business is one of the most flexible GCSEs in terms of supporting further education and careers. It has clear links with Modern Foreign Languages and Humanities as well as Physical Education and Psychology. Studying Business is invaluable as it has real-life application to both practical and theoretical pathways as students at some point in their life will interact with the Business world in some way.

At AGS, students will study the OCR specification which can be found here with an overview of how the students are assessed below. Our curriculum map follows the structure of covering all the content for Paper 1 in Year. 10 and Paper 2 in Year. 11. Although the papers are mostly stand alone, in Paper 2 there is a synoptic element, meaning understanding of all concepts is required for the final longer written question (9 marks). This is the reason we teach in the order we do, despite embedding exam content from very early on in Year 10 to ensure student success.