A Level Buisness
Course Outline
The Edexcel A Level Business course is taught over two years and structured into four interrelated themes:
Year 12
- Theme 1: Marketing and People – Students explore how businesses identify and meet customer needs, investigate the marketing mix, and understand the importance of effective people management.
- Theme 2: Managing Business Activities – This covers how businesses raise finance, plan and manage budgets, and improve operational efficiency.
Year 13
- Theme 3: Business Decisions and Strategy – Students build on Year 12 knowledge, focusing on strategic decision-making, growth strategies, and assessing competitiveness.
- Theme 4: Global Business – Learners examine international trade, globalisation, and how businesses operate in diverse global markets.
This structure allows students to progress from understanding core business functions to evaluating strategic decisions in a complex, global context.
What You Will Learn to Do
Students will develop the ability to:
- Apply business concepts and theories to real-life case studies
- Analyse data and evaluate decisions made by different types of businesses
- Investigate local, national, and international business contexts
- Explore the ethical and environmental issues facing businesses
- Take a critical approach to solving commercial problems and proposing strategic solutions
This is a highly applied subject that encourages independent thinking and a deep awareness of current economic and business issues.
Skills You Will Need
To succeed in A Level Business, students benefit from:
- Strong analytical and written communication skills
- Good numeracy for interpreting business data and financial figures
- An interest in current affairs, business trends, and economics
- Logical reasoning and problem-solving ability
- Self-motivation and willingness to participate in discussions
No prior Business GCSE is required, but you will need an average GCSE point score of 6 including a minimum of grade 6 in both Maths and English due to the analytical and data-based elements of the course.
How You Will Be Assessed
The qualification is entirely exam-based and assessed through three papers at the end of Year 13:
- Paper 1: Marketing, People and Global Businesses
(Themes 1 & 4) – 2 hours – 35% of A Level - Paper 2: Business Activities, Decisions and Strategy
(Themes 2 & 3) – 2 hours – 35% of A Level - Paper 3: Investigating Business in a Competitive Environment
(Synoptic paper using pre-released industry context covering all themes) – 2 hours – 30% of A Level
Each paper includes data-response and extended written questions based on real-world scenarios.
Exam board
Edexcel – The full specification may be found: HERE and the personal learning checklist: HERE
Head of Department
Ms Gray