Peter Symonds College

Study at PSC

The BTEC suite of business qualifications are designed to give you a thorough knowledge of the business world, together with vital skills demanded by major employers.

Course Content

The Diploma in Business is a two-year programme, designed to give students a thorough knowledge of the business world together with the vital business skills demanded by all major employers. The Diploma consists of eight units, six of which are mandatory and two of which are optional.

Year 1 (Core):

  • Unit 1 - Exploring Business
  • Unit 2 - Developing a marketing campaign*
  • Unit 3 - Personal Business Finance*
  • Unit 27 - Work Experience

Year 2 (Core)

  • Unit 5 - International Business
  • Unit 6 - Principles of Management*.

Year 2: (optional) The course team will select a further two units designed to give you a balanced and relevant structure. Likely areas of study will be:Team Building in Business, Digital Marketing and Recruitment and Selection.

 (* Externally assessed)

Methods of Teaching

Due to the diverse nature of the course, a wide variety of teaching and learning styles will be utilised by the team, including group work, presentations and individual assignments. You may research topics and present the results in a wide variety of ways other than as written text; often applying your research, skills and knowledge to specific work-related contexts and case studies. Where appropriate, group interaction can often play a part; for example, through teamwork and role-play you will work collaboratively on certain key parts of your studies, just as you would in the workplace.  In many parts of your programme of study, you will learn in an applied and practical way.

Methods & Patterns of Assessment

For the Diploma, five assignments are set and marked internally, two assignment tasks are set and marked by Pearson and one is a written exam set and marked by Pearson. Externally assessed units are market with an asterisk in the list above.

Where Could It Take Me?

The course is suitable for those who have a keen interest in following a career in the wide field of business and who wish to embark directly into employment or an apprenticeship after completing the award as well as those who wish to study at university.

Financial Implications

There are likely to be trips and visits to industry (such as IKEA, Calshot activity Centre and Thorpe Park) which may incur some expense but we will endeavour to cover costs within the departmental budget. The College has a Student Support Fund for those students who have difficulty meeting these costs.

Work Experience

The Diploma incorporates one week of work experience in the first year.

Entry Requirements

5 GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including Mathematics and English.

Most Recent Results

Below is a summary of the most recent set of results for this subject:

Grade: D*D* D*D DD DM MM MP PP U Total
Total: 1 13 13 6 1 0 0 0 34
Percentage 2.9 38.2 38.2 17.6 2.9 0.0 0.0 0.0