Business is an excellent subject if you see yourself either running your own business or working for a large business in the future. As a subject it is extremely broad and covers all areas of starting and running a business, such as finance, marketing and management along with different business models that exist and how they all work. For this reason, Business can lead to a wide range of careers and leaves the door open for a variety of different jobs. It is also universally recognised at A-Level and will contribute towards your university application for the vast majority of undergraduate degrees.
If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure if you can do it, say ‘yes’ and then learn how to do it later.
KS3
Business Studies is not offered at KS3
KS4
At KS4, Business consists of two years worth of study, with two exams at the end of the two years in order to achieve your iGCSE. Each exam is an hour and a half long. You will cover all of the basics at KS4, starting with business ownership models and what it means to be an entrepreneur. As the course goes on and gets more interesting, you will look at all the financial elements of running a business and also what it means for a business to go global and the implications of this. This is a broad introduction to how to effectively run a business and give you a great insight into all the different facets of business ownership. As both exams in Business are essay based, it is recommended that you have a strong.standard of written English and enjoy writing large pieces of writing, in order to be successful in this subject.
KS5
At KS5, you will again have two years of study in class but with four different exams spread across two years. In your first year (AS-Level) you will have a January exam, followed by another exam in summer. In your second year (A-Level) this will be the same. Each exam is two hours long. Ideally, you will have already studied Business at iGCSE if you are intending to choose this subject at A-Level, as you will have a stronger background knowledge on key terms and concepts which follow through to A-Level. You can still study Business at A-Level if you haven’t studied it at iGCSE, but you will have to work much harder to catch up on all the necessary information. In terms of content, you will expand in much more detail on all the different elements of running a business if you choose to study it at A-Level. Mathematically, the subject can also become difficult at this level and you will need to memorise and use different equations and calculations for success, along with graph interpretation. Like iGCSE, this is an essay based exam and so it is recommended that your standard of written English is at a good level in order to succeed.
