BUSINESS STUDIES in the Sixth Form
Since being introduced to St Bede’s, Business Studies has proved one of the most popular A Level choices in the Sixth Form. The course is interesting, topical and wide-ranging.
If you decide to study Business Studies in the Sixth Form you will be following the course offered by the A.Q.A. Examination Board.
Business Studies in Lower Sixth:
The two Advanced Subsidiary (AS) Units studied in Lower Sixth are entitled:
- K Planning & Financing a Business (40% of the final AS mark)
In this module, we study everything involved in setting up a new business from why people want to set up their own firm, the help they can get and the ways they can protect their business ideas. We look at the different legal types of firm the owner can set up. We investigate how a new firm and its owner raise the necessary finance – If you have watched ‘Dragons’ Den’ you will have some idea of what they have to go through! We also study the financial planning needed for a new firm, how it decides where to be located and about the Market Research they need to undertake.
- K Managing a Business (60% of the final AS mark)
In this module you will study the four key elements of any Business – in other words:
Marketing - You will discover how firms decide the best way to Advertise, Promote their Product and set a Price for it. Then, you will see the options firms have in terms of where to sell it.
Production - You will study the effects of new Technology in Business and investigate how firms can produce a good Quality & achieve high levels of Customer Service.
Financial - We will look at the importance in Business of managing Budgets, Cash Flow and Measuring Profitability
Personnel - They often say the staff are the most important part of any firm. You will investigate how Businesses organise and manage their workers. As part of this we study how firms Recruit, Motivate, Dismiss, Pay, Train, and lead their employees.
Business Studies in Upper Sixth:
Those students continuing to A2 will study two further modules:
Strategies for Success (50% of the final A2 mark)
You will look at the four elements that go into making any business successful – In this module you will study what firms can do to improve their Profits, their Products & their Employee relations while taking on the Competition effectively.
The Business Environment & Managing Change (50% of the final A2 mark)
In this module, you will study how businesses deal with the impact of economic, cultural, political or technological changes. You only need to think about how firms are striving desperately to deal with the turbulent economic climate of today, to see how vital this is to their survival.
Students’ work
Classwork: Expect the lessons to be a mixture of note-taking, discussion, group-work, videos, computer-based, etc.
Homework: In addition to essays and data-response, you can occasionally expect to be called upon – either on your own or in a group – to undertake some independent research, prior to making a presentation to the rest of the class.
Information Technology
The use of Information Technology has become an everyday part of the Business world. It is also very important that you are comfortable using Information Technology in your future role as a Consumer, Employee, Manager or even Owner of a firm. Therefore, as part of your Business Studies course, there will be exercises making use of the computers. In addition, the Internet provides us with an important source of up-to-date business information.
Visits
The Department organises a biennial overseas study which takes place during the February half-term. These have proved extremely popular and to date, we have taken groups to Brussels & Strasbourg / Dublin & Galway / Paris & Cologne / Milan & Rome / Madrid & Barcelona / Moscow and St. Petersburg. In October 2007, we visited New York and Washington for the second time.
GCSE requirements:
There is no requirement for you to have studied Business Studies at GCSE level and some of our most successful students begin the subject in Sixth Form. Although some topics in the course are developments of work covered at GCSE, others are new. The most important thing is that you are interested in learning how a business is organised, operates and plans its decisions.
Why consider Business Studies in the Sixth Form?
- It is no exaggeration to say that the majority of our students go on to study Business Studies or a related subject at University. The career versatility and flexibility of business related degrees helps to explain why they are currently the most popular choice of degree at University.
- All Students would be advised to consider Business Studies. No matter what your academic strengths or future career, a knowledge and understanding of the business world can only enhance your employment prospects.
Further information:
Should you require any further information, either about the course itself or the career prospects in the subject please speak to one of the business teachers:
Mr McKeogh, Mr Grierson, Miss Delaney, Mr. Gallagher or Mr Glancy. Their teaching rooms are H8 / H9 / H10 and H17.
