Business GCSE

The world of business and management is one in which all our students will be involved sooner or later, many, eventually, at a senior level. Not all Fettes students may continue to take the subject at A Level or for the IB, but most will benefit hugely from at least some exposure to Business and the basic truths of work in the modern world.

This course will fully satisfy more academic students, but also includes an important element of practical ‘hands-on‘ management exercises and case studies. Skills essential to the modern manager are taught and practised. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an integral part of GCSE Business Studies and makes up 25% of the final assessment. The students are expected to master a full range of software applications and to understand the value of ICT as a tool in business decision making.

The approach in GCSE Business Studies is from a management perspective. The students experience decision-making processes and managing change. We also expect the students to work well on their own and in a group, and to have a responsible attitude towards coursework. A student contemplating GCSE Business Studies must have an interest in what makes business work and a desire to see how theory is applied in the real world.

There are several School companies currently operating, and it is intended to run versions of these at GCSE level as well as in the Sixth Form, where appropriate. We will also expect some interest to be shown in the financial and business sections of major newspapers and relevant TV programmes.

Outside speakers are invited in for seminars, and lectures and visits to firms in different sectors of the economy are undertaken to try to bring the course into the real world as much as possible.

The aim of this course is to produce enthusiastic, well-motivated ‘self-starter‘ business men and women and those students who already possess these qualities in some measure will get off to a flying start!

Mr P F Heuston