Computer Science and Business Studies GCSE revision books - exam boards and new specs

[IHateMats]

DD1 will be choosing her subjects next year and it's a toss between Computer Science and Business Studies so I thought it would be a good idea to buy the revision guides books for her to have a browse over the summer which might help her make a decision.
She likes the GCP revision books but I'm not having much luck with the well known auction site, the books are either old [different specs] or the wrong exam board.
Computer Science is AQA but I'm only finding OCR books and Business Studies is OCR and I'm only finding AQA books. Is there much difference between the two? Obvs I will buy the up to date books for the right exam board once she's made a decision but at the moment she only needs a 'taste' of the subjects and time to ponder. Would the not so up to date/wrong exam board books be a waste of time or could they be useful to get an idea what either GCSE is all about?
For context: the school usually has enough interest to run both subjects every year and DD1 is able and interested. On the other hand, I think it would really be too much to do both GCSE's on top of everything else.
TIA

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Both are available from amazon. I find the auction site rubbish for academic stuff, Amazon much better.

[Malbecfan]

I'm pretty sure that Business Studies is one of the final subjects to move over to the new specifications; if I remember correctly, my y11 tutor group sat A*-G exams in Business Studies this summer but 9-1 for pretty much everything else. It may be that the revision guide has not even been written yet.

Before anyone offers criticism of my last point, my own subject had its first sitting of the 9-1 spec this summer. The company that seems to have the monopoly on text books and revision guides in this subject (not CGP) finally produced the books for the exam board we chose some 2 weeks before the final exam, when the students were already on study leave. Part of the issue was that a lot of schools used the new specs as an opportunity to re-evaluate which exam board to go with, and many of us have moved to one that was previously not popular. We have no regrets about our decision as the support from the board has been outstanding, but the publishers failed to grasp the fact that so many students were moving to this board and did not produce the resources in time.

The OP should look at the specifications on the exam boards' websites and make decisions there. Auction sites will not have any Business Studies guides as the exam has not yet been sat so they should go to the publishers themselves.

[Piggywaspushed]

Looking at the spec and sample papers (called SAMS) online would be free and tell you just as much!

When DS2 was choosing GCSE options we looked at some exam papers to get an idea of topics and types of questions.

It looks a bit like OCR haven't yet collaborated with CGP to produce a study guide for Business.

[IHateMats]

Good points re exams not sat yet, schools changing exam boards and slow publishers Malbecfan, explains why I can't seem to find much.
I'll have a look at the SAMS for sure in the hope they'll give me a better idea about topics, expectations and amount of time involved.
I'll probably buy the books anyway, they aren't expensive, and tell DD1 to take them with a large pinch of salt as the content could have changed a little or a lot. She doesn't need very precise info just yet, the idea is to give her a 'taste' so she can start thinking about her choices. She might even decide against both and develop an interest in something completely different.

[RolyRocks]

CGP does do an AQA revision guide for Computer Science (just not for EdExcel or Eduqas)
There is a difference in syllabus covered from OCR to AQA, especially in the style of programming questions asked. However, there is a lot of overlapping content too.

[IHateMats]

Thanks RolyRocks
It will be Computer Science, today DD1 found out from an older friend Business Studies is not on offer anymore anyway, not enough interest, cuts etc.

[Piggywaspushed]

I wouldn't take that as gospel truth :that can vary from year to year (and is odd as Business is conventionally popular in the 21st century). It also might refer to the vocational BTec which the govt removed from league table eligibility, controversially but the actual GCSE still remains.

[IHateMats]

That's true Piggy, older friend could be wrong.
Business Studies is still on the list of subjects taught at the school but not on the option choices list for this year. Doesn't mean it won't be offered again next year.