Business Studies
Only the person who has questions can have real understanding. Examples of essential disciplinary questions that are vital to Business Studies at Blanchelande are:
How does understanding the way businesses grow and develop help me to make better decisions, as a consumer, an employee (or business owner) and as a citizen?
How is it possible there are still gaps in the market given how long humans have been doing business for?
What do you think Dwight Eisenhower, war hero and US president, meant when he said “Plans are nothing, planning is everything”?
How could I convince the Dragon’s Den dragons to invest in me?
With many students having aspirations to enter the world of business, Business Studies at either GCSE or A-Level lays a strong foundation for future university courses and careers. Business proves to be one of the most popular subjects at GCSE.
GCSE
Business Studies is the theoretical and practical study of how businesses operate in global marketplaces. Students follow in the footsteps of Mick Jagger, Kevin Costner, Shaquille O’Neal and Queen Rania of Jordan, all of whom read business-related degrees!
Business is an exciting and fast-moving subject which looks at the way in which businesses start and operate to satisfy customers and make profit for investors. Students learn how business decisions are made and have the opportunity to practise their own business decision making in simulated business situations. How would you set the price for a new mobile phone? How would you raise the capital finance to start your own business? How can a new product idea be protected?
Many students consider Business Studies because they are already a customer, investor or have family links to business. The benefits of the course include: better business decision-making skills; understanding what’s going on with businesses in the economy; and confidence in assessing business opportunities, vital for possible future careers.
The syllabus includes two themes:
Theme 1: Investigating Small Business
- Enterprise and entrepreneurship
- Spotting a business opportunity
- Putting a business idea into practice
- Making the business effective
- Understanding external influences on business
Theme 2: Building a Business
- Growing the business
- Making marketing decisions
- Making operational decisions
- Making financial decisions
- Making human resource decisions
Lessons make use of business events reported in the news to illustrate the topic being taught, making them relevant to what is happening in the world today. Lessons are a mixture of instruction, discussion, video clips, business case studies and reviews of business events in the news. Assessment is by two written papers at the end of Year 11 (50% of final grade)
Enrichment
Students have the opportunity to:
- Enter the Guernsey Investment Funds Association (GIFA) Investment Challenge. Students are given a notional £1 million to invest in in a choice of 12 stocks; the aim being to grow it as much as possible over the six months of the competition. In 2024 Blanchelande Year 10 & 11 teams were placed 1st and 3rd.
GIFA Investment Challenge winners show positive returns | Bailiwick Express
GIFA Investment Challenge 2023/24 winners announced – Channel Eye
- Attend trips to businesses on Island to gain an understanding of their operations. These may include the Guernsey Dairy, Specsavers Head Office and the Guernsey Post.
- Take part in a mini-enterprise project. Small groups will design, market and sell a product to see how much profit they can make.
- Selected students take part in the national REVAS Boss Competition where they run a virtual Business. In 2024, running a travel agency simulation, the Blanchelande Year 10 Team were placed 3rd. See the full results revealed here. Blanchelande features at 22 mins 15 secs.
A Level
Why take Business Studies A-Level?
Business is a real-world A-Level for students considering Business-related courses at university. With a focus on helping students to become good decision-makers, students learn essential managerial and analytical techniques, both highly sought after and valued in a wide range of careers.
Having an interest in current affairs and world news is essential to be able to contribute to the subject in class. You will need a good standard of Mathematics and English to cope with the writing element of the course, along with analysing data and graphs. Business proves to be one of the most popular subjects at A-Level.
Enrichment
- Students have the opportunity to:
- Attend visits to local businesses, including entrepreneurs, not for profits, state owned, private banks and private limited companies.
- Enter the Guernsey Investment Funds Association (GIFA) Investment Challenge. Students are given a notional £1 million to invest in in a choice of 12 stocks; the aim being to grow it as much as possible over the six months of the competition.
- Take part in Young Enterprise in Year 12. In 2023, Blanchelande Team Get Mugged won Best Sales and their CEO, Eowyn Falla, won Achiever of the Year.
A-Level course outline
All exam papers test the whole A-level course which covers:
Topic 1 – What is business?
Topic 2 – Managers, leadership and decision making
Topic 3 – Marketing Management
Topic 4 – Operation Managemenet
Topic 5 – Finance Management
Topic 6 – Human Resource Management
Topic 7 – Analysing the strategic position of a business
Topic 8 – Choosing the strategic direction
Topic 9 – Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies
Topic 10 – Managing strategic change
Paper 1 Business
Section A: 15 multiple choice questions
Section B: short answer questions
Section C & D: choice of 2 essay questions, of which you choose one.
Written exam: 2 hours
100 marks 33.33%
Paper 2 Business
Three mini case studies and you are asked roughly 3-4 questions on each case study, ranging from short-answer questions to extended-answer questions. Some of the questions will involve calculations and interpretations based on the data you have been given.
Written exam: 2 hours
100 marks 33.33%
Paper 3 Business
One extended case study with written information and data for calculations, requiring longer answers.
Written exam: 2 hours
100 marks 33.33%
