Business

Applications Open - 10th November 2025

Applications Close - 31st January 2026

Entry Requirements - For entry into year 12 to begin A Level and/or vocational courses, students must meet the minimum requirements in English and Mathematics (grade 4), however most courses require significantly higher grades in certain other GCSE subjects to access them.

How to Apply -

• Internal students – apply via Applicaa (school have emailed all students a link)
• External Students – apply using Applicaa from the Trinity School website under Sixth Form - Apply here

Students are required to study a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 subjects.

Why study the subject?
With a focus on helping you to become a good decision maker, you will learn essential managerial skills, alongside techniques to help you become an analytical problem solver. These skills are all highly sought after and valued in a wide range of careers.

Skills Acquired

• Practical application of business concepts
• Active rather than passive understanding of the subject
• Understanding of key business concepts including entrepreneurship, customer service, emerging markets, globalisation and migration

Students suited to the course
Students with an enterprising mind, a keen interest in how businesses operate, and an interest in the way the economy works should all consider studying Business.

What other subjects it combines well with
Business is very broad and can be combined with many subjects. Students looking to continue the subject at university should think about combining it with facilitating subjects especially Mathematics, English, French and Spanish. Students committed to the arts or sciences should also consider Business in this cost-centred world.

Co-curricular
Trips and visits, Young Enterprise, IFS Student Investor Challenge.

Year 12
An introduction to key business areas: Management, marketing, operations, finance and human resources. This includes a special focus on decision making – particularly how decisions made in one area can affect the rest of the business.

Year 13
An investigation of the strategic decisions that all businesses must make, including the global aspect.

Unit content

Year 12
Topic 1: What is business?
Topic 2: Managers, leadership and decision making
Topic 3: Marketing management
Topic 4: Operations management
Topic 5: Financial management
Topic 6: Human resource management

Year 13
Topic 7: Analysing the strategic position of a business
Topic 8: Choosing the strategic direction
Topic 9: Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies
Topic 10: Managing strategic change

A-Level assessment consists of three, two hour written exams taken at the end of the two-year course. Each exam will be worth a third of the A-Level. All three papers will draw on material from the whole course and will feature a range of question styles including multiple choice, calculation, short answer, essay and data response questions plus case studies.

GCSE Grade 5 in English Language and Mathematics

If you would like to study business, finance or management at university, A-Level Business provides an excellent foundation. The skills you learn are also transferable across a broad range of subjects and careers.

Whatever you choose to do in the future, you will find that the things you learn in this course will help. For example, you'll probably end up working with lots of different people, so knowledge of motivational theory will help you work well with others and help them achieve their potential; an understanding of the effect interest rates, exchange rates and international trade is also essential in this ever shrinking world. You might have ambitious plans to start your own business. If that is the case, you will find the marketing and finance topics particularly useful.