FACULTY OF COMPUTING & BUSINESS

Everyone in Year 10 will study ICT “Key Skills” for one hour each week. Each of you already possess a variety of ICT skills and at Key Stage 4 we can now provide the opportunity for all of you to gain a nationally recognised ICT qualification using those skills. The Key Skills course will build on what you have learned in Years 7, 8 and 9 and will lead to a qualification but not a GCSE. The idea of the Key Skills course is to make sure that all pupils leave Chingford Foundation School with at least a basic qualification in ICT, something which will become increasingly important in the world of work.

Clearly one hour a week will not give time to cover everything or to go into great depth; to do this the full course GCSE is also there as one of the options. If you are thinking of taking ICT in the Sixth Form or if you expect to work with computers, you should really consider opting for the full GCSE course as one of your options.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Syllabus

There is no formal entry requirement, but we do expect you to have made good progress in your ICT lessons in Year 9. Your current teacher will be consulted as to your suitability. It is also helpful if you regularly use a computer at home.

Outline of the Course

YEAR 10
Weeks 1 -5 Practice Coursework
You will use this time to work through one Unit from previous years so
you have an idea of what is expected.
Weeks 6- 29 First Piece of Coursework – 30% of final mark
The board will set 3 or 4 tasks for you to complete. They normally include making a leaflet, mail merge, a spreadsheet model and a web site. You must analyse, design, implement, test and evaluate each task.
Weeks 30 - 35 This is the time when we take our first serious look at ICT theory in order to prepare you for your Year 10 examinations
Weeks 36 - 37 Year 10 examinations
YEAR 11
Weeks 1 - 20 Second Piece of Coursework – 30% of final mark
This time you will have to research your own business and show how it could be helped with the use of a relational database. This then has to be designed, implemented, tested and evaluated just like before. If you have time you can add features to your project, to show off other skills you may have.
Weeks 21 - 31 Second look at ICT theory and plenty of practice papers
Final examinations – 40% of final mark

Homework

This will vary throughout the course. When you are doing coursework you will have plenty of things to do or finish off at home. You will also be given textbooks to read and work through at home during quieter periods. It is important that this is done if you are to make best use of the two theory slots. You will also be given practice papers.

Why do ICT?

BUSINESS STUDIES

What will I learn?

• The wide aspects of business and its ever changing character
• The links between the business world and of business itself with people
• An understanding of organisations, the markets they sell to and how they run
• An awareness that business behaviour can be viewed from many different viewpoints
• The importance of influences outside the business and how it affects what a business does

Who is the course for?

• Pupils who want a broad understanding of the world of business
• Pupils who enjoy challenges and problem solving
• Pupils who want a recognised qualification

Common Core:

• External environment of the Business, Business Structure, organisation and Control, Business
  Behaviour, People in Organisations, Aiding and Controlling Business Activity

• Investigating the marketing strategy for a firm with the aim of making recommendations for its
  improvement

Optional Unit:

• Business Communication and Marketing

How will I be assessed?

Assessment of the common core is through an external examination and is worth 50% of the total GCSE.

The optional unit has been selected and is Business Communication and Marketing. This is assessed as an external examination and is worth 25% of the total GCSE.

The coursework makes up 25% of the total GCSE

All examinations are taken in the summer of year 11.

What skills do I need to have?

All pupils and abilities are accepted onto the course. Skills in ICT, Maths and English will be used and developed throughout the course.

What do I need to know or do before taking the course?

• Talk to the business studies teachers to discuss the course further
• Talk to the careers advisor

What courses/employment could I progress to at the end of the course?

As with other GCSE courses, successful completion of this course will enable progression onto sixth form courses or college courses, certain Apprenticeships or even employment in a range of industries.

Business Studies will equip you with many of the valuable skills required in the modern employment market.

As there are so many different themes within Business Studies you will have a real insight into a number of areas which you can go on further to sixth form, college, higher education and employment, to specialise in.