Business

A-Level Business is a popular choice amongst Sixth Formers. It builds on the foundations of GCSE but it is available for students to begin as a new subject. The focus of study is the analysis of business decisions and understanding how success in a business is affected by both internal and external influences.

The AQA specification is followed which requires students to examine case studies from real-world businesses. Logical and critical thinking skills are essential to succeed as well as numerical ability to handle financial information. The specification is split into 10 units studied over 2 years. 

The Aims of these specifications are to encourage candidates to: 

  • develop an enthusiasm for studying business;
  • gain a holistic understanding of business;
  • develop a critical understanding of organisations and their ability to meet society's needs and wants;
  • understand that business behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives;
  • generate enterprising and creative solutions to business problems and issues;
  • be aware of the ethical dilemmas and responsibilities faced by organisations and individuals;
  • acquire a range of relevant business and generic skills, including decision making, problem solving, challenging assumptions and quantifying and managing information

 

Students will sit three, 2 hour examinations at the end of year 2. Each exam accounts for 33.3%. The exam comprises of multiple choice, shorter answer questions, data response and essay format questions.

 

The following units are in Year 1

  • What is business?
  • Managers, leadership and decision making
  • Decision making to improve marketing performance
  • Decision making to improve operational performance
  • Decision making to improve financial performance
  • Decision making to improve human resource performance

 

The following units are in Year 2

  • Analysing the strategic position of a business
  • Choosing strategic direction
  • Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies
  • Managing strategic change