Business

Calling all business enterprise superstars.

Welcome to the exciting and award–winning world of Business A–Level at Hampstead Fine Arts College.

Offering a dynamic teaching and learning experience is only part of our delivery. We place an emphasis on your learner experience that will engage you in a myriad of entrepreneurial programmes whilst also building upon your transferable skills for life, such as critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, emotional intelligence, resilience and creativity.

Business is the fundamental essence of what drives our finances, communications, innovation, industry and even popular culture. What better way to understand, imbibe and apply the bountiful beauty of business than through Hampstead Fine Art’s engaging curriculum, bespoke training, industry trips, guest speakers and our award-winning enterprise programmes.

Business provides you with the tools needed to embrace the challenges and opportunities of life. It teaches skills and builds confidence that no ambitious, aspirational student can afford to be without. For many Business students the traditional career pathways hold strong appeal, including specialisation in financial sectors, consultancy, human resources, marketing and of course, managing your own company. Business provides a superb grounding in many areas of work and provides a breadth of skill sets which enable students to have the aspiration and drive to embark on launching their own new starter companies. Let’s face it, business synergises with almost any other curriculum and career.

A level Business develops a critical awareness and understanding of the objectives and management of public and private sector enterprises. Students will learn about the social, economic and technical environments that influence an organisation’s decision making and the opportunities for growth, competitiveness and profitability.

In Y12 the learner journey covers the key functions of business, such as, leadership, finance, marketing, operations management and human resource management, and their impact on stakeholders and society. In Y13, students will acquire a more holistic approach to problem-solving and decision-making through developing strategies to solve complex business problems and manage strategic change.

The students will fine tune their abilities in presenting and developing arguments, making justified judgements, conducting research and interpreting data – all relevant to their own personal decision making. Throughout the course delivery the students will tackle a breath of simulator activities that replicate the real time experience one may face in the workplace. These creative and bespoke challenges will immerse students in business scenarios, such as the stock exchange, quality control in manufacturing, trade union negotiations with management, market research focus groups and even motivational training.

Ultimately Business at Hampstead Fine Arts will be a fun and rewarding learning experience that will raise learner aspirations, enhance skill sets and stretch and challenge capabilities.

What will I learn?

The subject content is divided into ten teaching units, delivered over two years:

Y12

• What is business?
• Managers, leadership, and decision making.
• Decision making to improve marketing performance.
• Decision making to improve operational performance.
• Decision making to improve financial performance.
• Decision making to improve human resource performance.

Y13

• Analysing the strategic position of a business.
• Choosing strategic direction.
• Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies.
• Managing strategic change.

This Business A-Level involves a total of six hours of written exams split over three examination papers (two hours each) taken at the end of the two-year course. A wide range of question types include multiple choice, short answer, data response and essay questions.

ASSESSMENT

Assessment involves a total of six hours of written exams split over three examination papers (two hours each) taken at the end of the two-year course. A wide range of question types include multiple choice, short answer, and data response questions.

Examination board: AQA