Business

Business is an exciting and dynamic subject. Whatever your future career choice, it will provide you with a sound basis upon which to build your future in the workplace. The A-level aims to help you to develop an understanding of business organisations and the markets they serve. You will develop skills in marketing, finance, operations and human resource management and gain an understanding of the external business environment and its impact on businesses.

The main requirement for success is that you have an inquiring mind and are interested in businesses, how they work and why some are more successful than others. The ability to write accurate English is important. You will need a good level of numeracy and be comfortable working with numbers. Business combines extremely well with all A-level subjects.

What will you study and learn?

The specification is divided into four themes and themes 1 and 2 are studied in Year 12. Theme 1 considers the business functions of marketing and people, considering elements such as the marketing mix, the way in which markets work and elements of HR such as recruitment, organisational design and motivation. Theme 2, managing business activities, covers both finance and production. Students will learn to use techniques such as calculating different types of profit, break-even analysis, budgeting and variance analysis and calculating profitability and liquidity. They will learn about production techniques such as capacity utilisation, stock control and quality management. By the end of the course, students will have developed knowledge, understanding and skills in all of the four main business functions.

Course content and examinations

Kingsley business students study the Edexcel GCE business specification. Linear A-level examinations are taken at the end of the course. Assessment is via 3 2 hour examinations at the end of the course. Paper 1 will focus on Marketing, people and global businesses. Paper 2 will focus on business activities, decisions and strategy. Paper 3 will be on investigating business in a competitive environment.

Where could the subject take you?

Studying A-level business will help you to develop the skills that both employers and universities are looking for. These include business skills, working as a member of a team, the ability to analyse and evaluate data, numerical skills and thinking creatively as well as gaining an excellent understanding of how businesses work.