Intent
Our aim is to create enthusiastic students who have a broad, detailed and rich knowledge of business and economic theory and thus will have the motivation and knowledge to succeed in their chosen career paths.
In KS4 we aim to engage and inspire students, which reflects the demands of a truly modern and evolving business environment, allowing students to develop as commercially minded and enterprising individuals which will help them to succeed in their chosen pathway. The engaging themes taught at GCSE will spark our students’ imagination and inspire commercial thinking as they develop their business knowledge. We use contemporary business contexts in our teaching, which enables engagement and extensive learning in the classroom.
Implementation
Students will:
- know and understand business concepts, business terminology, business objectives, the integrated nature of business activity and the impact of business on individuals and wider society
- apply knowledge and understanding to contemporary business issues and to different types and sizes of businesses in local, national and global contexts
- develop as enterprising individuals with the ability to think commercially and creatively to demonstrate business acumen, and draw on evidence to make informed business decisions and solve business problems
- develop as effective and independent students, and as critical and reflective thinkers with enquiring minds
- use an enquiring, critical approach to make informed judgements
- investigate and analyse real business opportunities and issues to construct well- argued, well-evidenced, balanced and structured arguments, demonstrating their depth and breadth of understanding of business
- develop the ability to use contextual data in case studies
- develop and apply quantitative skills relevant to business, including using and interpreting data
Extra-Curricular/Cultural Capital activities at RET schools
- Young enterprise programme
- Joint business and history trip to Berlin
- Accountancy competition
- Bring in local businesses to talk about marketing
- Build a business activity to apply to unit 1 of GCSE
- Stock exchange enrichment day
Relationship to the wider KS3 curriculum
Students will need the following abilities, largely from their core mathematics and English learning:
- calculate percentages, interpret graphs and use formulae
- comprehension skills including interpretation and understanding of texts
- extracting useful information and summarising it in written form.
Links to KS5
There are a range of business-related courses that students can go on to study in KS5. These include A levels in economics and business studies and Level 3 BTECs. There will also be T levels in 2021 for digital business service and in 2022 for finance and, separately, accounting. At RET schools there are the following KS5 options:
Economics A level
where our aims are for students to be able to:
- develop an interest in, and enthusiasm for Economics
- appreciate the contribution of economics to the understanding of the wider economic and social environment
- develop an understanding of a range of concepts and an ability to use those concepts in a variety of different contexts
- use an enquiring, critical and thoughtful approach to the study of economics and develop an ability to think as an economist
- understand that economic behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives
- develop analytical and quantitative skills, together with qualities and attitudes that will equip them for the challenges, opportunities and responsibilities of adult and working life.
BTEC Business Level 3 National Extended Certificate in Business
where our aims are for students to be able to:
- develop an interest in, and enthusiasm for Business
- to prepare learners to perform in vocational tasks that encourage the development of appropriate vocational behaviors and transferable skills.
- Students to develop their transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, research and analysis, which are valued in both higher education and the workplace.
- The engaging units taught at GCSE will spark our students’ imagination and inspire commercial thinking as they develop their business knowledge.