Welcome to the Business and Economics Department at the Ellen Wilkinson School

Click here for Mrs Hyde's Business and Economics Blog

an overview of the courses we offer

GCSE Business Studies	Years 9 - 11	Edexcel
OCR Cambridge TEC Diploma in Business	Year 12 B	OCR
GCE A-Level Applied Business	Year 12 - 13	AQA
GCE A-Level Economics and Business	Year 12 - 13	Edexcel
GCE A-Level Economics	Year 12 - 13	Edexcel

The Business and Economics Department consists of five specialist teachers all of whom have considerable experience in the fields of legal work, retail, investment analysis and accounting.  Our lessons are interactive and all our classrooms are equipped with electronic whiteboards, sound equipment and student computers.  We also provide individual support to our students with one-to-one study sessions, mentoring and feedback.  Our resources are published on Fronter, the virtual learning environment offered to EWS students.

GCSE Business is a popular choice at key stage 4. In the first year of the three-year GCSE course, students learn about small businesses.  In Year 10, students complete small business theory, practice their skills in a business challenge and begin the theory of the larger firms. Year 11  takes a closer look at models and techniques used by large firms such as Apple, Boots or Unilever and is completed by the public examinations. 

The OCR Cambridge TEC Diploma in Business is offered to students who have not yet achieved a Level 2 qualification, that is, 5 A* - C grades at GCSE. The course is very hands-on and students find it highly motivating. It is an excellent preparation for Applied A-Levels.

The GCE Applied A-Level in Business consists of three units each year.  In Year 12, two coursework units cover an introduction to business and human resources management, plus an examined unit that covers financial planning.  In Year 13, students write a business plan, investigate how a promotional plan is written and prepare for an examined unit on the external marketing environment.

The GCE A-Level in Economics and Business is a very interesting course that seeks to use economic knowledge in order to inform the running of a business. We look at local and national issues in Year 12. In Year 13, we study the international economy and business through topics such as globalisation and growth in China and India.

The GCE A-Level in Economics is for students with a serious academic interest in Economics. In Year 12, Microeconomic topics include  the "invisible hand", demand and supply, elasticities and how the invisible hand can fail, leading to over- or under consumption.  Macroeconomics looks at the targets we expect the economy of the UK to achieve in terms of GDP growth, inflation, unemployment and the balance of trade. We look at how these can be measured, the three policies - fiscal, monetary and supply-side - that are used to achieve the aims, and how the policies can conflict with each other.  At A2, we look at models of competition and costs in Microeconomics, and study international development and trade in the Macroeconomics module.