Business Studies
Understanding Business will help you to make informed decisions when facing important life choices, whether you’re choosing a career or a political party to vote for. Both subjects are popular with our students; Business is studied at Key Stage 4 and Economics is studied at A-level.
In Business Studies, students think and act as if they were already entrepreneurs, using their learning to make critical decisions in lessons. For example, if they were going to start a business what would it be? And how would they be sure they were producing something people wanted? And even if the product was viable, would they be confident that they would make a profit? By the end of the course students are not only equipped with the skills to succeed in their exams - they will be confident in developing and running their own business. This is an increasingly important skillset in a rapidly changing economy.
Key Stage 4 Business (Edexcel)
The course consists of two topics. Each is assessed by a 90 minute exam.
Topic 1 – Investigating Small Business
● Topic 1.1 Enterprise and entrepreneurship
● Topic 1.2 Spotting a business opportunity
● Topic 1.3 Putting a business idea into practice
● Topic 1.4 Making the business effective
● Topic 1.5 Understanding external influences on business
Topic 2 - Growing the business
● Topic 2.1 Growing the business
● Topic 2.2 Making marketing decisions
● Topic 2.3 Making operational decisions
● Topic 2.4 Making financial decisions
● Topic 2.5 Making human resource decisions
Computing
The National Curriculum encourages the exploration and development of links with Mathematics, Science and Design and Technology. Developing computational thinking and creativity is also considered to help students understand and change the world through understanding technology.
Over the current academic year it is the aim to provide students with an excellent foundational understanding of Python that provides opportunities into careers in programming including; game development, web development and design, software development, graphic design, operating systems management and many more technological areas. Technology and education are becoming more intertwined. For this reason, it is even more imperative that we teach general technological literacy through Microsoft Office as part of the curriculum. Understanding how to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams is an invaluable skill that extends into every other subject area, future careers and employability.
Increasing students’ global awareness around technology is another major focus of the Computing department at Grey Coat. We feel that it is essential for students to understand the environmental impact of the life cycle of their devices, from how they were manufactured, shipped and sold to e-waste disposal that requires rethinking. Students are therefore taught modules on the environmental implications of increased technological device demand; this provides them an opportunity to think on a global scale as global citizens.
National Curriculum: Computing
Year 7 Computing
Topics covered in year 7 will include:
Assessed with end of unit test after each unit followed by an end of year test.
Year 8 Computing
Topics covered in year 8 will include:
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E-safety
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Copyright
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Computer systems
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Computer networks
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Data representation
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Computational thinking
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Python programming
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Web design
Assessed with end of unit test after each unit followed by an end of year test.
Year 9 Computing
Topics covered in year 9 will include:
Assessed with end of unit test after each unit followed by an end of year test.