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Business Curriculum

Empowering Future Leaders Through Excellence in Business Education

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Why study Business?

What business develops

  • Skills like decision-making, problem-solving and communication 
  • An understanding of how businesses work
  • Financial awareness
  • Enterprise and creativity

Student voice

“Business lessons help me to think differently about everyday things. It's like seeing the world with new eyes. ”  Year 10 Pupil

Key Stage 4 Business Cycle Overview

Cycle 1 

Year 10 – Business Activity

Knowledge focus

Business Activity 

Key skills

  • Understand basic business concepts such as ownership, aims and objectives and business growth.  
  • Analyse business situations using real-world examples Problem-solving and decision-making for business scenarios.  
  • Making recommendations based on context.  
  • Communication skills through written responses and business explanations. 
  • Application of knowledge to context  

 

Assessment

  • Formative Assessment lesson by lesson.  
  • Summative: Two pieces of assessed homework.  
  • One assessed end of topic assessment.  

Key Vocabulary 

  • Entrepreneur, stakeholder, enterprise.  
  • Liability  
  • Sole Trader  
  • Private Limited Company  
  • Organic growth  
  • Merger  
  • Takeover  

 

Year 11 – Operations

Knowledge focus

  • Operations

Key skills

  • Understanding more complex business functions – operations management.  
  • Understand how products are produced and what affects production methods.  
  • Analysing efficiency and ways t improve productivity.  
  • Evaluating quality methods.  
  • Applying knowledge of supply chain and logistics to business scenarios.  
  • Improving extended writing skills for longer exam questions.  

Assessment

  • Formative Assessment lesson by lesson.  
  • Summative: Two pieces of assessed homework.  
  • One assessed end of topic assessment.  

Key Vocabulary 

  • Operations
  • Productivity
  • Quality control/assurance.  
  • Supply chain
  • Logistics
  • Batch  
  • Flow  

 

Cycle 2

Year 10 – Marketing

Knowledge focus

Business Activity 

Key skills

  • Understand and use marketing terminology.  
  • Interpreting and using market data. 
  • Apply the marketing mix to real business scenarios.  
  • Analyse market decisions and their impact on sales and competitiveness.  
  • Evaluate promotional and pricing strategies with pros and cons.  
  • Develop creativity and problem-solving skills.

 

Assessment

  • Formative Assessment lesson by lesson.  
  • Summative: Two pieces of assessed homework.  
  • One assessed end of topic assessment.

Key Vocabulary 

  • Market segmentation, marketing mix.  
  • Design mix  
  • Innovation  
  • Invention  
  • Distribution Channel  
  • Digital distribution  

 

Year 11 – Finance

Knowledge focus

Finance

Key skills

  • Using financial calculations such as revenue, costs and profit/loss.  
  • Interpret financial documents like cash flow forecasts.  
  • Analyse financial data to support decision making.  
  • Evaluate appropriate sources of finance.  
  • Improve numeracy and accuracy when working with figures.  

Assessment

  • Formative Assessment lesson by lesson.  
  • Summative: Two pieces of assessed homework.  
  • One assessed end of topic assessment.  

Key Vocabulary 

  • Revenue  
  • Variable costs  
  • Profit  
  • Break-even  
  • Cash flow forecasts Sources of finance  
  • Investment appraisal  
  • Loans  

 

Cycle 3

Year 10 – People [HR]

Knowledge focus

People HR

Key skills

  • Understand recruitment, selection and training processes.  
  • Recognise different organisational structures and roles within a business.  
  • Analyse motivational strategies and how they affect productivity.  
  • Interpreting communication flows.  
  • Evaluate HR decisions for different business scenarios.  

 

Assessment

  • Formative Assessment lesson by lesson.  
  • Summative: Two pieces of assessed homework.  
  • One assessed end of topic assessment.  
  • Mock examination Paper 1 

Key Vocabulary 

  • Recruitment  
  • Selection  
  • Motivation  
  • Organisational structure  
  • Hierarchy  
  • Chain of command  
  • Span of control 

 

Year 11 – Influences on Business and the Interdependent Nature

Knowledge focus

Influences on business

Key skills

  • Understand how economic factors affect businesses. 
  • Recognising legal, ethical and environmental issues and how firms respond.  
  • Analyse stakeholder impacts and conflicts when decisions are made.  
  • Interpreting how competition and market changes influence strategy.  
  • Evaluating business responses to external pressures and trends.  

Assessment

  • Formative Assessment lesson by lesson.  
  • Summative: Two pieces of assessed homework.  
  • One assessed end of topic assessment.  
  • Mock examination Paper 2 

Key Vocabulary 

  • Ethics  
  • The Economy  
  • Inflation  
  • Interest Rates  
  • Pressure Groups 

 

 

 

Key Stage 5 Business

Cycle 1 

Year 12 – Meeting Customer Needs and The Market

Knowledge focus

Theme 1:  

  • -Meeting Customer Needs 
  • -The Market  

Theme 2:  

  • -Raising Finance  
  • -Financial Planning

Key skills

  • Communicate ideas using business terminology accurately.  
  • Interpret data from research, graphs and market information.  
  • Use elasticity calculations to analyse customer responses.  
  • Apply knowledge to real business contexts and case studies.  
  • Compare market types.  
  • Select suitable sources of finance.  
  • Judge the risks and costs of borrowing  
  • Use case studies to evaluate financial choices.  

 

Assessment

  • Formative assessment strategies used every lesson.  
  • Exam style practice- teacher/ student assessed. 
  • Formal assessment.  

Key Vocabulary 

  • Market Segmentation  
  • Mass and Niche Markets 
  • USP 
  • Branding  
  • Added value  
  • Price Elasticity of Demand  
  • Income Elasticity of Demand  
  • Supply  
  • Equilibrium  
  • Cash-flow forecast  
  • Net cash flow  
  • Budget Variance  

 

Year 13 – Strategy, Growth and Globalisation

Knowledge focus

Theme 3:  

  • -Business Objectives and Strategy  
  • -Business Growth 

Theme 4: 

  • -Globalisation  
  • -Global markets and business expansion  

Key skills

  • Strategic decision-making and evaluation.  
  • Judging suitable business strategies for different scenarios.  
  • Compare methods of business growth.  
  • Analyse global trends and international data.  

Assessment

  • Formative assessment strategies used every lesson.  
  • Exam style practice- teacher/ student assessed. 
  • Formal assessment. 

Key Vocabulary 

  • Corporate objectives  
  • PESTLE  
  • SWOT  
  • Corporate Strategy  
  • Strategic and tactical objectives  
  • Multi-national organisation  
  • Protectionism  
  • Quota  
  • Tariff 
  • Trading Bloc 

 

Cycle 2 

Year 12 – Marketing Mix and Strategy

Knowledge focus

Theme 1: Marketing mix and strategy  

  • -Managing People  

Theme 2: 

  • -Managing Finance  
  • -Resource Management  

Key skills

  • Analyse marketing decisions using real business examples.  
  • Apply the 4P’s to design suitable marketing strategies.  
  • Evaluate strengths/weaknesses of promotional methods and pricing choices.  
  • Interpret product lifecycle data and suggest improvements.  
  • Communicate business ideas using strategic marketing reasoning.  
  • Interpret financial statements (income statement and balance sheets) 
  • Evaluate financial performance  
  • Link financial decisions to objectives  
  • Judge operational decisions to improve productivity  
  • Solving problems related to capacity, stock and resource use.  

Assessment

  • Formative assessment strategies used every lesson.  
  • Exam style practice- teacher/ student assessed. 
  • Formal assessment. 

Key Vocabulary 

  • The Product Lifecycle  
  • Marketing Mix  
  • Design Mix  
  • Distribution Channel  
  • Price Skimming  
  • Price Penetration  
  • Above/Below the line.  
  • Gross and Net Profit Margin  
  • Internal and External Finance  

 

Year 13 – Theme 2- Rural and Urban Risks 

Knowledge focus

Theme 3:  

  • -Decision-making techniques  
  • -Influences on business decisions  

Theme 4:  

  • -Global marketing  
  • -Global industries and companies  

Key skills

  • Interpreting and analysing numerical and qualitative data.  
  • Using decision-making tools to reach conclusions.  
  • Critical thinking around external and internal business pressures.  
  • Evaluate decisions based on legislation, ethics, culture and corporate objectives.  
  • Compare international marketing strategies.  
  • Assess when to use global vs local marketing approaches.  

Assessment

  • Formative assessment strategies used every lesson.  
  • Exam style practice- teacher/ student assessed. 
  • Formal assessment. 

Key Vocabulary 

  • Decision Tree 
  • Expected Value  
  • Critical Path Analysis  
  • Float Time 
  • Qualitative and Quantitative Decision Making  
  • Corporate Culture  
  • Business Ethics  
  • Global Branding  
  • Foreign Direct Investment  
  • Outsourcing  

 

 

 

Cycle 3 

Year 12 – Managing People

Knowledge focus

Theme 1:  

  • -Managing People continued  
  • -Entrepreneur and leaders 

Theme 2:  

  • -Resource Management continued.  
  • -External Influences. 

Key skills

  • Analyse HR decisions and their impact on performance.  
  • Assess leadership and motivational approaches.  
  • Evaluate the effect of improving quality or productivity on costs and competitiveness.  
  • Recommend solutions to operational issues using logical reasoning.  
  • Analyse the impact of economic, legal and competitive changes.  
  • Critical thinking when weighing risks and opportunities.  

Assessment

  • Formative assessment strategies used every lesson.  
  • Exam style practice- teacher/ student assessed. 
  • Formal assessment. 

Key Vocabulary 

  • Enterprise  
  • Risk and Reward  
  • Corporate Social Responsibility  
  • Stakeholders  
  • Shareholders 
  • Recruitment  
  • Selection  
  • Motivation  
  • Retention  
  • Job Enlargement  

Year 13 – Competitiveness

Knowledge focus

Theme 3:  

  •  -Assessing competitiveness  
  • -Managing Change  

Theme 4:  

  • -Revision time for all themes.  

Key skills

  • Interpret performance data using ratios.  
  • Compare competitor performance objectively.  
  • Use profitability, liquidity and efficiency ratios to assess strengths and weaknesses  
  • Analyse causes and effects of change.  
  • Evaluating strategies for managing resistance and uncertainty.  
  • Condense and organise knowledge.  
  • Practice exam-writing techniques.  

Assessment

  • Formative assessment strategies used every lesson.  
  • Exam style practice- teacher/ student assessed.  
  • Formal assessment. 

Key Vocabulary 

  • Labour Productivity  
  • Return on Equity  
  • Return on Capital Employed  
  • Current Ratio  
  • Acid Test Ratio  
  • Gearing  
  • Incremental Change  
  • Delayering  
  • Restructuring

 

 

 

 

For Key Stage 5 Curriculum information please click link here to our Sixth Form Curriculum