Welcome to Business Studies

You will study in a variety of contexts from small businesses to large businesses, from UK businesses to global businesses, and from manufacturing businesses to service businesses. The central theme within Year 12 is abut decision making and the context in which decisions are made. This is looked at from the four main areas within a business, which are marketing, finance, people and operations.

The wider political, economical, social, technological, legal and environmental factors are also considered.

Year 13 will build on the Year 12 studies, and will develop into strategic decision making based on the position that a business is in, and also the direction that the business wants to go. The course also investigates how strategic change is pursued and managed within a business.

Assessment

The Business Studies A-level is assessed by three external examinations.

• Paper 1
  This is a two-hour written exam, comprised of 15 multiple-choice questions, short answer questions and one essay question (from a choice of two). This exam is comprised of 100 marks, which is worth 33.3% of the course certificate.
• Paper 2
  This is a two-hour written exam, comprised of three data response questions, each consisting of three or four part questions. This exam is comprised of 100 marks, which is worth 33.3% of the course certificate.
• Paper 3
  This is a two-hour written exam, comprised of six questions on one case-study. This exam is comprised of 100 marks, which is worth 33.3% of the course certificate.

Career & Progression Opportunities

Business Studies is an exciting subject, with real-life relevance that can relate to the workplace, and life within your own, independent business.

Career opportunities for Business Studies students include accountancy, banking, business management, business law, human resource management, the Civil Service, Marketing, trading, management consultancy and retail buying.

Entry Requirements

If you’d like to study A-level Business Studies, then you’ll need to have at least a Grade B in GCSE Business Studies, or at least a Merit in BTEC Business Studies.

You’ll also need to have at least a Grade 5 in GCSE English, and at least a Grade 5 in GCSE Maths.

You can take this course if you haven’t studied Business Studies previously, but you will need 4 other qualifications (in addition to GCSE English & GCSE Maths).

If you’d like to, you can download this information as a PDF file. Download the Business Studies (A-level) course information sheet (opens in a new tab) →