A Level Business Studies

This course covers the brand new spec introduced in September 2015 and has been designed to provide students with an understanding of the following:

How businesses work
How the world around them affects decision making within a business
What leads to change and how businesses respond to these issues
The range of perspectives that can be taken on business activities.

It also helps to develop a range of important and transferable skills such as:-

Data Skills
Presenting arguments and making recommendations on the basis of the available evidence
Problem solving

Business studies is a contemporary and 'real world' subject. Business studies students can benefit greatly from drawing on experience of employment, experience as consumers and what they see in the media.

DURATION

The approximate length of the course is 700 hours and you are provided with support for up to 2 years. You work through the course at your own pace, however bear in mind that exams can only be sat in June so some forward planning with regards to this is wise. The first date you may sit exams is June 2017.

SUPPORT

Although you are studying from home, you are fully supported when taking the course. You will have a tutor assigned to you who is contactable by email and a support team by telephone should you have any questions or require assistance with your studies.

There are a series of assignments during the course that you complete and return to your tutor for assessment. They don't count towards your final grade, but they allow the tutor to monitor your progress and correct any areas you may have misunderstood.

QUALIFICATION

Exams are sat in May/June of each year, beginning in 2017.

It is up to you when you register yourself for the exams. For students in England the AS exam no longer counts towards your full A Level qualification so it is entirely optional whether or not you take it. Students in Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to sit the AS.

The exam board is Edexcel.

Students are responsible for registering to sit the exams at a test centre. We recommend that you make enquiries regarding a centre before you enrol for a course.

METHOD OF STUDY

Paper Based Version

The course comes to you as a paper-based pack delivered by courier.

You will receive the full course including all the AS and A2 material at the beginning. The course contains a number of assignments that you will complete and email to your tutor for marking and feedback. This allows the tutor to ensure you are picking things up correctly and to iron out any problem areas.

In addition there are a number of self testing exercises that will help you to gauge your progress.

You will be given guidance through the Study Guide on the nuts and bolts of studying and submitting assignments.

Online Version

The online courses are fully digitised so you can study on any smart device. Your learning programme is completely flexible so you can study at a pace that suits you. All the content is broken down into bite size chunks to make your learning manageable and effective.

Your course of study is broken down into units and sections, each of which contains lessons, activities and tests.

Courses are delivered on the Moodle based Digital Learning Environment CloudPort allowing you to study from anywhere on any smart device as long as you have access to the internet.

The course concludes by preparing you for an examination using past papers in your chosen subject.

FEES

The cost of the course if you pay in full is £399 for the paper version and £449 for the online version.

If you have a UK bank account you can also pay in stages as below:-

 Paper Version:

Enrolment Fee: £199
5 x Monthly Payments: £50
Total Payable: £449

Online Version:-

Enrolment Fee: £249
5 x Monthly Payments: £50
Total Payable: £499

ASSESSMENT

In order to achieve this qualification students will sit three examinations. Booking exams is the responsibility of the student. Any and all exam fees will be paid by the student directly to their chosen exam centre. Please arrange/confirm this prior to enrolling with your chosen centre.

Paper 1

Marketing, People and Global Business
Paper Code 9BS0/01

Assessment details:

• 35% of A-Level
• 100 marks
• Written exam: 2 hours

What is assessed?

Paper 1 will assess marketing, people and global businesses. Questions will be drawn from Themes 1 and 4 and from local, national and global contexts.

Overview of assessment:

• Written examination
• The paper comprises two sections
• Students answer all questions from both questions
• Sections A and B each comprise one data response question broken down into a number of parts, including one extended open-response question

Paper 2: Business activities, decisions and strategy
Paper code: 9BS0/02

Assessment details:

• 35% of A-Level
• 100 marks
• Written exam: 2 hours

What is assessed?

Paper 2 will assess business finance and operations, business decisions and strategy. Questions will be drawn from Themes 2 and 3 and from local, national and global contexts.

Overview of assessment:

• Written examination
• The paper comprises two sections
• Students answer all questions from both questions
• Sections A and B each comprise one data response question broken down into a number of parts, including one extended open-response question

Paper 3: Investigating business in a competitive environment
Paper Code: 9BS0/03

Assessment details:

• 30% of A-Level
• 100 marks
• Written exam: 2 hours

What is assessed?:

Paper 3 will assess content across all four themes. Questions will be drawn from local, national and global contexts.

For Paper 3, there will be a pre-released context document issued on the Pearson website in November of the previous year. A new context will be given out each year and will relate to the examination series for the following summer.

The context will focus on a broad context, such as an industry or market in which businesses operate. The question paper will be in two sections.

The first section will focus on the broad context provided. This will be outlined to centres through the pre-released document.

The second section will focus on at least one strand within the context provided, such as a particular business.

Each section will contain unseen stimulus materials comprising quantitative and qualitative evidence. Students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding from Themes 1,2,3 & 4 and their understanding of the broad context to this evidence.

Students cannot take any of their research or investigation data carried out as part of the pre-release into the examination.

Overview of assessment:

• Written examination
• The paper comprises two sections
• Students answer all questions from both questions
• Sections A and B each comprise one data response question broken down into a number of parts, including one extended open-response question

Assignment Information

Throughout the course there will be self-assessment questions, and tutor marked questions, to enable students to monitor their progress.

Students are able to sit a standalone AS paper as a measurement/guide of their progress if required. However this will incur additional exam fees with your centre. This will be available in May/June 2016 if required. This will not count towards your overall A Level exam and is purely available for students who wish to test their progress. (England only)

For students in Northern Ireland and Wales the AS will continue to count. 

SYLLABUS

Theme 1: Marketing and People

Meeting customer needs
The Market
Marketing mix and strategy
Managing People
Entrepreneurs and leaders

Theme 2: Managing Business Activities

Raising Finance
Financial Planning
Managing Finance
Resource Management
External Influence

Theme 3: Business decisions and Strategy

Business objectives and strategies
Business growth
Decision making techniques
Influences on business decisions
Assessing competitiveness
Managing change

Theme 4: Global Business

Globalisation
Global markets and business expansion
Global marketing
Global industries and companies (multinational corporations)