After a night marking year 9 exam papers I would like to address some points made -
in terms of Oxbridge/RG/Non RG but high ranking universities
I have many ex pupils who attend these universities that have a GCSE, BTEC L2 (even one who completed the shock horror Ex Diploma at Cambridge), A2 and BTEC L3 in Business.
Whilst I agree that it is not one the facilitating A Level subjects and quite rightly so (although it is suggested for some degrees, such as Accountancy, Actuarial Sciences, Business, Economics, Management Studies, Politics ) as students need a rounded education before they begin to specialise.
Traditionally my subject at A Level tends to be the 4th choice following 3 traditional subjects. It just happens that a lot of students continue to study the subject through to A2 after dropping of one of the traditional subjects due to good marks/enjoyment which means that numbers of students undertaking the subject stays at a high number.
This does not harm their future chances, and in fact in my experience has helped students to consider their future career paths given that the subject draws on so many different skills (numerical, analytical, extended writing, evaluative) to be used on a wide range of areas in which often students find their niche and where their future career might lie such as accountancy, marketing, HR, economics, law to name a few paths my ex students have taken.
in terms of what is learnt at GCSE and if it is needed
I previously stated that students learn a broad range in terms of business, looking at starting/small businesses and then larger business. They cover marketing, basic finance, HR, law, legal standing, raising finance, economic context. In order to be successful the skills needed to gain anything higher than a C grade are as per other subjects, they need to be able to analyse, evaluate, be numerical, be aware of the wider world and have excellent writing/research and essay skills.
Whilst undertaking the GCSE will not suddenly allow students to become overnight success in business nor does it claim to be a necessity to successful business ownership etc it does give students the information and knowledge (together with the above skills) in order to appreciate the issues faced, how decisions are made, why decisions are made and the impact of these decisions not only on a company but their stakeholders.
As adults who have worked and experienced the world the content might seem easy to us, but to 14-16 year olds this is new and interesting and ‘lightbulb’ moments happen every lesson. They build on these new skills and knowledge and often it can be taken into other subjects which is what should be happening in schools at GCSE.
should academic students take it?
Every school is concerned with their league table standings and the dread of OFSTED. In order for a school to be successful in both they ensure that academic (and the better schools every student) studies the appropriate range of subjects. Of course this means English, Maths, and Sciences but recently EBAC subjects for those capable and now the Progress 8 dictates EBAC subjects to be included. Therefore no school is going to suggest that a ‘traditional academic’ subject not be studied and this will continue (which I have no argument against).
But at GCSE it should be about a range of subjects and not just ones that are seen as academic. The arts, DT, technology and others such as Business, Health and Social, Law etc need to be studied in order to develop well rounded individuals. By the constant dismissal of these subjects we are in danger of having a generation that is very narrowly educated and the loss of the skills and knowledge that these subjects offer will be a detriment to the future of our society.
easy/soft subject
All GCSE (and equivalent) qualifications are subject to standards which are set by OFQUAL and are constantly examined. There are no ‘easy’ subjects, no ‘easy’ exams, no ‘easy’ Controlled Assessments at this level; some might seem as ‘easy’ to adults who have experience but to an average 16 year old this is not the case.
The specification I teach has one paper which only allows 1 mark to be dropped to be awarded A*, the extended writing paper also has very high grade boundaries and students are expected to write balanced, analytical answers which draw on not only their subject knowledge but also their general knowledge and draw an evaluation using supportive evidence – this is definitely not easy!
The whole ‘soft subjects’ notion at GCSE is not an issue if students have a balanced curriculum that covers a broad range of subjects