Business
Curriculum Intent
Our GCSE Business curriculum begins in Year 10 and provides students with a broad and balanced introduction to the world of Business. It is designed to build key knowledge, understanding, and skills that prepare students for further study, employment, and life in an ever-changing economic environment.
Students explore a wide range of real-life business contexts, from small start-ups to large global organisations. They develop commercial awareness and a practical understanding of how businesses operate, focusing on areas such as enterprise, marketing, operations, finance and human resources. Throughout the course, students build confidence with business vocabulary and apply numeracy skills in realistic, business-based scenarios.
The curriculum is structured around two key themes:
- Theme 1: Investigating Small Business, which covers enterprise, spotting business opportunities, putting a business idea into practice, and understanding external influences.
- Theme 2: Building a Business, which focuses on growing a business, making financial decisions, and exploring marketing, operations and people management in more depth.
Students become confident, analytical thinkers who can apply their learning to real-world situations. They learn to interpret data, make informed decisions, solve problems and communicate effectively, all of which are highly transferable skills for other subjects and future pathways. Learning is carefully sequenced to revisit and deepen understanding over time, with clear links to maths, English and ICT. Students will also take part in enterprise projects and interactive learning experiences to bring business to life.
By the end of Year 11, students will be well-prepared for further study at A Level or through vocational business pathways, with a strong understanding of how businesses function and their impact on the wider world.
Curriculum Implementation – Curriculum Map
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Autumn 1 |
Autumn 2 |
Spring 1 |
Spring 2 |
Summer 1 |
Summer 2 |
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Year 10 |
1.1 Enterprise & Entrepreneurship |
1.2 Spotting a Business Opportunity |
1.3 Putting a Business Idea into Practice |
1.4 Making the Business Effective |
1.5 Understanding External Influences |
2.1 Growing the Business |
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Year 11 |
2.2 Making Marketing Decisions |
2.3 Making Operational Decisions |
2.4 Making Financial Decisions |
Revision: Theme 1 & 2 |
Revision: Mock prep |
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Year 12 |
Theme 1: 1.1 Meeting customer needs, 1.2 Market |
Theme 1: 1.3 Marketing mix, 1.4 Entrepreneurship |
Theme 2: 2.1 External finance, 2.2 Internal finance |
Theme 2: 2.3 Costs, revenue & profit, 2.4 Forecasting, 2.5 Break-even |
Theme 3: 3.1 Objectives & strategy, 3.2 Growth |
Theme 3: 3.3 Decision-making, 3.4 SWOT/Porter’s/ Ansoff Exam technique |
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Year 13 |
Theme 4: 4.1 Globalisation, 4.2 Global markets |
Theme 4: 4.3 Global marketing, 4.4 MNCs |
Revision: Theme 1 & 2 |
Revision: Theme 3 & 4 |
Final prep: full papers |
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Texts and Exam Boards
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Year 7- 9 |
Year 10-11 |
Year 12-13 |
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Core texts
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Exam board: Edexcel
Core Texts: CGP Revision Guide: GCSE Business Edexcel Revision Guide - for the Grade 9-1 Course (CGP) ISBN: 9781782946892 Available at: cgpbooks.co.uk Official Textbook: Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Business Student Book by Helen Coupland-Smith, Andrew Redfern, and Jane King Publisher: Pearson ISBN: 9781292182820
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Exam board: Edexcel
Core Texts: Official Textbook (Highly Recommended): Edexcel AS/A Level Business 5th Edition by Dave Hall, Carlo Raffo & Rob Jones Publisher: Pearson ISBN: 9781292239180 Suitable for both Year 12 (Themes 1 & 2) and Year 13 (Themes 3 & 4) Revision Guide: My Revision Notes: Edexcel A Level Business by Andrew Hammond Publisher: Hodder Education
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