Putney High School
Economics and Business Studies
"True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made." Franklin D. Roosevelt. 32nd US president, (1933-45)
Economics and Business Studies are popular subjects at AS and A Level here at Putney High School where students can study either in the Sixth Form. Both are highly academic subjects so our approach is thorough and expectations from pupils are high.
Students achieve excellent results and many choose to study the subjects further at university level. The department aims to make both subjects inspiring and relevant to the real world. The dynamic nature of economics and business is brought into the classroom with daily newspapers and the internet. Students are encouraged to achieve their full potential through a variety of activities, including visits, role plays, drama, independent research and presentations as well as competitions. In 2005-6, five of our students were amongst eleven nationally, to win a financial essay competition. The girls participate regularly in The Bank of England and Times Interest Rate Challenge and during this year many submitted essays for the Young Economist of the Year 2007 competition run by The Royal Economic Society. The use of ICT is an integral part of teaching and learning. Extension lessons are offered to those who are particularly keen to study the subject further at university.
Economics and Business Awareness in Year 10
The objective of this eight week course is to introduce girls to a wide range of business and economics related issues. Connecting their informal knowledge to their creativity, pupils will be introduced to a variety of real-world issues such as money, tax and pay; budgeting; government involvement in the economy; consumer protection legislation; functional areas of a business; products and pricing and basic marketing strategies. The intended outcome is that girls should have some basic knowledge of financial and related matters as they reach the age at which they begin to take responsibility for their own situation.
AS and A Level Economics
Economics is a very rigorous subject which is popular at AS and many students choose to continue with it at A Level and beyond. They recognise the width and breadth of understanding that economics opens up to the world around them. We follow the Edexcel AS Level Economics (8121) and A Level Economics (9121) syllabuses. The course has been a long established success at Putney High School for many years and it covers the main principles of economic theory as well as more applied aspects of economics. In the AS, students study three modules which are: Markets - how they work, Markets - why they fail and Managing the Economy. In the A Level the three modules are: Industrial Economics, The UK in the Global Economy and the Economic Development option.
Edexcel Website for Economics
AS and A Level Business Studies
Business Studies has been a very popular subject at Putney since it was introduced in 1998. Many girls also study this at university – in fact all of the current and most of last year’s Year 13 students. The girls are continuously inspired by the business programmes on television, such as The Apprentice, Dragon’s Den and news of well known companies such as Marks and Spencer. To further their understanding of the subject, they frequently carry out research on companies. Their study relates to the world they live in and some have been motivated enough to set up their own businesses in later life. One former student won the 2004 Young Business Person of the Year award.
We follow the AQA AS Level Business Studies (5131) and A Level Business Studies (6131) syllabuses. Students learn about all aspects of business, including Marketing, Finance, People and Operations Management. They also study all the External Influences on business as well as Objectives and Strategy and how to set up and run a business.
AQA Website for Business Studies
