As Spike Milligan once said, ‘To open a business is easy; to keep it open is very difficult’.

The Business Studies A Level seeks to equip budding entrepreneurs and management professionals with the tools, not just to keep a business running, but to maximise profits while doing so. The course will examine the functional areas of business (namely marketing, finance, operations and human resources), the impact of digital technology on business, the influence of ethical and environmental issues on business decisions, the external environment of business, the importance of the context of business in relation to decision-making, strategic planning, how business activities affect competitiveness and the interrelated nature of business activities. Students will be required to make use of non-quantitative and quantitative data in decision-making (including the interpretation of index numbers and calculations such as ratios and percentages). 

The syllabus consists of 3 compulsory units:

• What is business? Managing marketing and finance

• Managing people and operations

• Business and society, business and the external environment and business strategy

There are four main skills to be developed throughout the course: AO1 Knowledge • AO2 Application in context • AO3 Analysis • AO4 Evaluation and judgement

AIMS

As a Department we fully support the aims and ethos of the A Level course. In particular, we believe that the aims of the Business Studies course at Bexley Grammar are to:

• Encourage a holistic view of the world of business.

• Encourage students to become independent critical thinkers.

• Promote the importance of exploring business issues from a real world perspective.

ASSESSMENT

SUBJECT REQUIREMENT

Students do not need to have studied Business Studies at GCSE to study Business Studies at A Level. However, a good understanding of Mathematics and English language are required for the skills needed for examinations.