Business studies is a varied subject that prepares students for all aspects of working life. No matter what industry students will eventually find themselves in after their learning journey, they will need to work successfully and understand the nature of working in an organisation with other people and clear objectives. People who are successful in business not only transform their own lives but the lives of others, Elon Musk is revolutionising the way we travel with Tesla motor vehicles and Steve Jobs connected us to the world around us through his revolutionary Apple products. Business studies is a fascinating and dynamic subject that keeps evolving as the world that we live in as employers, employees and consumers does too.
Business studies therefore underpins almost any role and as such can offer exciting and well-paid careers. This qualification allows students the opportunity to explore real business issues and how businesses work. Students will consider the practical application of business concepts whilst adopting a holistic approach to the subject. The course demonstrates the interrelated nature of business using business models, theories and techniques to support analysis of contemporary business issues and situations to provide a dynamic specification. The depth and breadth of the content is designed to engage and inspire students through topics and issues that are relevant today. Students will study key contemporary developments such as digital technology and business ethics which typically looks at how businesses make decisions and their community involvement, helping students to reflect critically on theirs.
The curriculum continues to focus on developing resilient learners who can recover from mistakes and effectively solve problems. We endeavour to make the curriculum as interesting and challenging as possible in order to motivate their active engagement and inspire them to be successful business people or even the next famous Entrepreneur! Our aim is to ensure that they develop and achieve an understanding of business that is directly transferable, not only to other subjects, but also beyond, developing a wide range of practical and theoretical skills that will prepare our students for the future.
We aim to ensure that all our pupils who are disadvantaged or have any special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) have access to a carefully planned curriculum. Our curriculum aims to provide pupils with SEND with explicit systematic teaching and rehearsal of knowledge. We also ensure that these pupils have the time they need to study important subject content in Business Studies.
The King’s Leadership Academy Hawthorne’s Business Studies curriculum has been developed to ensure that all pupils will:
Develop the skills required to manage, lead and make decisions that can improve performance in marketing, operational, financial and human resources.
Explore the interrelated nature of business activities and how they affect businesses, be they large or small, UK or internationally focussed and in different sectors such as service or manufacturing.
Develop the skills required to analyse competitive environments and markets; assess how ethical, environmental and technological factors influence decision making; use a range of quantitative and non-quantitative data to evaluate strategic and functional options.
Develop the skills of critical analysis, decision-making and problem-solving skills through challenging content and case studies.
Key stage 4 curriculum overview
For each curriculum overview, additional documentation is available upon request. This documentation outlines more precisely the exact subject knowledge that your child must know and remember. These documents also include the types of teaching activities that subject staff have chosen to help your son/daughter learn the curriculum here at King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes.
Assessment
In order to check how well our pupils are learning the curriculum, teachers use a full range of assessment techniques. These include diagnostic questions to reveal your child’s preconceptions and common misunderstandings about Business Studies, questioning and end of topic/learning cycle assessments.