GCSE Business (Edexcel)

Curriculum Overview

Edexcel GCSE Business is a two‑year qualification designed to help students understand how businesses operate, make decisions, and respond to a changing world. The course is structured into two themes, each assessed by an external exam worth 50% of the qualification.

• Theme 1: Investigating Small Business explores how small enterprises are created and run. Students examine the role of entrepreneurs, how business ideas emerge, how opportunities are spotted, and what is needed to turn an idea into a functioning business. They learn about finance for start‑ups, marketing, aiming products at customers, making operations effective, and how external influences—such as legislation, market trends, and competition—affect small firms.

• Theme 2: Building a Business focuses on how businesses grow beyond the start‑up phase and the strategic decisions they must make. Students explore business growth, marketing strategies, product development, operations management, financial decision‑making, and human resource management. They also examine how globalisation, technological change, and external environments shape business behaviour.

Both papers are 105‑minute written exams, each containing calculations, multiple‑choice questions, short answers, and extended‑writing responses based on business contexts.

Throughout the course, students gain insight into real‑world business situations and build key skills including problem‑solving, decision‑making, interpreting business data, and understanding commercial thinking. The curriculum encourages learners to consider both the opportunities and challenges involved in running a business in today’s dynamic environment.

Intent

The intent of our GCSE Business curriculum is to develop commercially aware, confident learners who understand how real businesses operate and make strategic decisions. The curriculum equips students with knowledge of enterprise, marketing, finance, operations, and human resources, while helping them appreciate how external factors—such as competition, government policy, and globalisation—shape business behaviour. In line with the Edexcel specification, the curriculum intends to foster analytical thinking, problem‑solving, financial literacy, and effective communication, enabling students to make informed judgments about business activity.

Our aim is to nurture learners who can apply business concepts to real‑world contexts, preparing them for further study, apprenticeships, or employment in business‑related fields. We also seek to develop transferable skills such as interpreting data, constructing arguments, and evaluating decisions.

Implementation

The curriculum is delivered through a structured, sequenced approach aligned to the two Edexcel themes:

• Theme 1: Investigating Small Business – Students begin by exploring entrepreneurial activity, business start‑ups, and small‑scale decision‑making. They study enterprise, spotting opportunities, making business ideas work, marketing foundations, and understanding external influences. Lessons are contextual, using case studies and real business examples.
• Theme 2: Building a Business – Students progress to understanding business growth and the functional areas: marketing, operations, finance and human resources. They learn how growing firms make strategic decisions, and how broader economic, social, and global factors influence performance. Teaching uses applied business scenarios and exam‑style tasks to deepen understanding.

Both themes are taught through a mix of teacher‑led instruction, student investigation, data interpretation, discussion, and problem‑solving tasks. Assessment preparation includes practice of multiple‑choice questions, calculations, case‑study responses, and structured extended writing.

Impact

By the end of the course, learners demonstrate a secure understanding of business concepts and can apply them confidently to varied contexts. They develop the ability to interpret data, evaluate decisions, and justify strategic recommendations. Students are well‑equipped for A‑level Business, BTEC Business, economics courses, or business‑related apprenticeships.

The impact of the curriculum is seen in students who:

• Think commercially and make informed decisions.
• Understand the functional operations of both small and large businesses.
• Can analyse real business problems and communicate solutions effectively.
• Possess key transferable skills valued in further study and the workplace.

This prepares learners for future academic and professional pathways within an evolving global business environment.