Our S2 course follows the Experiences and Outcomes outlined in ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’ as well as incorporating real-life business experiences, challenges and business related current affairs.

This involves studying local businesses, larger companies and multinational organisations to enhance pupils’ understanding of the world we live in to prepare them for the ‘World of Work’ through leading their own learning and equipping them with a theoretical understanding to latterly transfer into practical skills.  We aim to provide a wide Business Education that incorporates theory and practical experiences and through a variety of assessment approaches in a way that maximises every pupils’ learning through the pace and challenge as well as incorporating differentiated learning to get it right for every child.

Our main areas of focus include:

• Creating their own Music Festival
• Globalisation and Business Ethics
• Office 365
• China

Earlier this year, S2 pupils were designing their own music festival business where they had to hone their creative thinking with the practicalities of setting up and running their own festival business. Building on the topic of entrepreneurs from S1, S2 pupils will enhance this knowledge and understanding through creating a business plan that details their costing and potential profit margins. This involves:

– Pupils carrying out their own market research.

– Pupils designing their own festival bands and tickets using digital software.

– Planning, pricing and designing your products (for example merchandise to sell), facilities and food stalls.

– Using promotional methods and strategies, pupils design their own billboard advert.

– Pupils analyse maps and choose a site based on the features of their festival.

– Pupils then design their own festival maps by hand as illustrated below.

– Once learners have decided on their plan, they will make their own digital copy of their map.

The initial designing stage, pupils sketch on paper:

Subsequently, pupils transfer their paper planned sketch onto ICT software called LCO Grams to make a digital design.

Our methodology encompasses a multifaceted approach whereby classes can originate from teacher led discussion, independent learning such as  through researching to practice and improve our digital literacy using pupil iPads and class computers to encourage pupils to be successful learners.

Our classroom layouts strengthen collaborative learning through groupwork to encourage learners to be effective contributors and promote positive relationships.

Assessments range from formative which can involve research tasks, posters or homework tasks through to end of topic tests as a summative approach. These aim to give pupils the opportunity to demonstrate and improve their knowledge, practical skills and reflect on their learning for lifelong skills for learning, life and work.

We use teacher-led discussion, cooperative group work and many formative assessment strategies to give pupils the opportunity to demonstrate and improve their knowledge, practical skills and for learning, life and work.

Evidence of learning through assessing progress and achievement will come from a variety of sources including:

• Observing day-to-day learning within the classroom;
• Coursework, including regular tests* at the end of each unit of work;
• Learning conversations and class discussion contributions
• Planned periodic holistic assessment.
• Homestudy – to check learners have retained class materials.

* The tests assesses knowledge and understanding as well as problem solving skills.