Your
GCSE
Business Studies
Handbook
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Welcome to the subject of Business Studies!
We think that you have made a very good choice in choosing this subject and we hope that you
enjoy studying it as much as we enjoy teaching it!
This handbook aims to give you and your parents an overview of what to expect in GCSE Business
Studies. It includes information on what will be taught and how the course will be assessed.
What will you learn?
There are three units that make up the course. In the first two units you will be introduced to
the world of small businesses and will look at what makes someone a successful business person.
You will find out how to develop an idea and spot an opportunity and turn that into a successful
business. You will understand how to make a business effective and manage money well. You will
also see how the world around us affects small businesses and all the people involved.
In Unit 3, you will learn more about how small businesses develop and you will discover how
businesses promote themselves and keep their customers happy. You will learn how businesses
manage their finances and the people who work for them.
How will you be assessed?
The course consists of two written examinations and a controlled assessment task. The
controlled assessment will be completed in the second half of the autumn term in Year 11, and
this counts for 25% of the total marks for the qualification.
For the controlled assessment you will be given a list of 5 questions based upon the work you
have covered in Year 10, with one question linked to each topic area. Most of the questions will
be investigating what a local business is doing, and you should choose which question interests
you the most. You will then have up to 6 hours where you conduct research, both in and out of
the classroom into your title. This might involve using the internet to find information,
conducting a short survey, interviewing the owner or customers, looking at sales literature,
statistics and books. You will need to keep a log to record your research activities and build up a
research file containing the information you have found. . You will then have three hours in
school, under exam conditions, where you can use the information you gathered through your
research to assist you in writing up your answer to the question you have chosen.
The rest of the assessment is through 2 written exams, which are taken at the very end of the
course.
Unit 1 is a multiple choice and objective test with questions, and it is 30 minutes long. This is
largely testing your knowledge of business studies concepts.
Unit 3 which is another written examination paper, lasts for 90minutes. The questions will be a
mixture of multiple- choice, data response, short-answer, extended-writing and scenario-based
questions. These will test your ability to apply your knowledge in order to explain the reasons
why businesses do certain things, and your ability to consider the advantages and disadvantages
of actions businesses actions. This paper tests the higher order skills of analysis and
evaluation.
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Detail of each unit and what you will be studying
Year 10: Unit 1 - Introduction to Small Business
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
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Spotting a business opportunity

Understanding customer needs

Market mapping

Competition

Added value

Franchising
Showing enterprise

What is enterprise?

Thinking creatively

What questions do entrepreneurs ask?

Invention and innovation – generating new business ideas

Taking a calculated risk

Other important enterprise skills
Putting a business idea into practice

Objectives when starting up

The qualities shown by entrepreneurs

Estimating revenues, costs and profits

Forecasting cash flows

Obtaining finance
Making the start-up effective

Customer focus

The marketing mix

The importance of limited liability

Start up legal and tax issues

Effective on-time delivery and customer satisfaction

Recruiting, training and motivating staff
1.5
Understanding the economic context

Market demand and supply

Impact of changes in interest rates

Impact of changes in exchange rates

How do business cycles affect small businesses

What effects do business decisions have on stakeholders
Year 11: Unit 3 – Building a Business
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
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Marketing

What is marketing?

Market research

Product trial and repeat purchase

Product life cycle

Branding and differentiation

Building a successful marketing mix
Meeting customer needs

Design and research development

Managing stock and quality

Cost-effective operations and competitiveness

Effective customer service

Meeting consumer protection laws
Effective financial management

How to improve cash flow

How to improve profit

Break-even charts and analysis

Financing growth
Effective people management

Organisational structure

Motivation theory

Communication
Remuneration

3.5
The wider world affecting business

Ethics in business

Environmental issues

Economic issues affecting international trade
How will you be assessed and what do your results look like in grades?
For each unit you take you will receive a mark and a grade. These marks are then added
together to give you your total mark for the subject and this is then converted into your overall
GCSE grade.
For example, if you scored 39 on Unit 1, 43 on Unit 2 and 75 on Unit 3, you would have a total
subject mark of 157. This would give you a grade B overall for Business Studies.
The minimum marks required for each grade for each unit are as follows:
Units 1 and 2
Unit grade
Max = 50
marks
A*
45
A
40
B
35
C
30
D
25
E
20
F
15
G
10
A*
90
A
80
B
70
C
60
D
50
E
40
F
30
G
20
D
100
E
80
F
60
G
40
Unit 3
Unit grade
Max = 100
marks
What your GCSE grade looks like overall:
GCSE grade
Max = 200
marks
5
A*
180
A
160
B
140
C
120
GCSE Business Studies Grade Descriptions
To achieve a Grade A
You must be able to recall accurately, select and communicate your detailed knowledge and
thorough understanding of business concepts, theories, issues and current practices. You
must be able to use business terminology accurately and appropriately.
You must be able to plan and carry out effectively a range of investigations and tasks using
a wide range of skills competently, making effective use of time and resources. You must
show that you can use your knowledge and understanding effectively to select and organise
information from a wide range of sources and that you can investigate business
organisations in a range of contexts.
You can use and evaluate quantitative and qualitative evidence effectively with a high
degree of accuracy to analyse problems and issues, and make informed and reasoned
judgements to present conclusions accurately and appropriately.
To achieve a Grade C
You can recall, select and communicate sound knowledge and understanding of business
concepts, theories, issues and current business practices, and use business terminology
appropriately.
You show that you can plan and carry out different investigations using a range of skills
appropriately. You can apply your knowledge and understanding to select and organise
information from a variety of sources in order to investigate business organisations in
different contexts.
You can use and evaluate evidence to analyse problems and issues with some accuracy
and make reasoned judgements and present conclusions that are supported by evidence.
To achieve a Grade E
You demonstrate knowledge and understanding of some basic aspects of business
concepts, theories, issues and practices. You can use some simple business terminology.
You can carry out a straightforward investigation and tasks using a limited range of skills.
You can apply your knowledge and understanding to select and organise simple information
from a limited range of sources to investigate business organisations.
You can identify simple evidence in order to analyse problems and issues and make
judgements. You can present simple conclusions that are sometimes supported by
evidence.
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Finally! What more can you do?
We hope that your interest in the subject will develop and extend outside of the classroom and
doing homework.
There are a number of things that you can do and these will help deepen your knowledge and
understanding of the subject. These include watching the news for current business stories and
reading newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian (available in the
school library!). You could also watch programmes such as The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den. The
following websites are also excellent sources of information:
BBC Bitesize
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitsize/business
Bized
www.bized.co.uk
Business Studies Online
www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk
The Times 100
www.thetimes100.co.uk
Bank of England
www.bankofengland.co.uk
British Franchise Association www.thebfa.org
Tutor2U
www.tutor2u.net
BBC business news
www.bbc.co.uk/business
Federation of small businesses www.fsb.org.uk
Dragons Den
www.bbc.co.uk/dragonden
Business Link
www.businesslink.gov.uk
Franchises and starting up
www.uk250.co.uk
The Business Channel
www.thebusinesschannel.com
Business in the Community
www.bitc.org.uk
Your teacher is also around to help you, so always ask when you do not understand or need
further information!
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