Whether you’re starting out in your business career, or looking to further develop your skills, Business IGCSE provides a thorough understanding of the principles, terminology, concepts and methods you need to succeed.

This popular online distance learning course teaches sound business strategies that will enhance your employability and add-value in a variety of business organisations. Studying IGCSE Business online is the perfect course if you:

• Have a general interest in business, and how business works.
• Are interested in setting up your own business.
• Want to explore a wide variety of applications and industries.
• Are keen to prove to future employers you possess sound reasoning and leadership skills, an analytical approach and can be innovative and agile in a range of contexts.

Future opportunities

• Studying Business at AS/A Level or higher levels.
• Strengthen your position to pursue a career in marketing, human resources, accounting, finance and production.
• NEC IGCSE Business course provides insight into the real world of business and prepares you for a wide range of career choices.

Section 1 – Business activity

• Business objectives
• Sole traders and partnerships
• Limited liability companies and public corporations
• Primary, secondary and tertiary activity

Section 2 – Influences on business

• Decisions on location
• Business and the international economy
• Government objectives and policies
• External factors
• Measuring success

Section 3 – People in business

• Organisational structure
• Internal and external communication
• Recruitment and selection
• Training
• Motivation and rewards

Section 4 – Business finance

• Sources of business finance
• Cash-flow forecasting
• Costs and break-even analysis
• Financial documents
• Accounts analysis

Section 5 – Marketing

• The market
• Market research
• The marketing mix: product
• The marketing mix: price
• The marketing mix: place
• The marketing mix: promotion

Section 6 – Business operations

• Economies and diseconomies of scale
• Production
• Improving productivity
• Quality

Section 7 – Small business revision Introduction

• Investigating small businesses 1
• Investigating small businesses 2

Section 8 – Large business revision Introduction

• Investigating large businesses 1
• Investigating large businesses 2

Study IGCSE Business with us and benefit from:

• Flexible learning
• Support from a personal tutor by email, phone or Skype
• Any time enrolment
• Our exam booking service
• Assignments with tutor feedback
• Ongoing support from Student Support
• Forums to discuss your course with other students

learn@nec

Choose when and where you access your course, using learn@nec our 24/7 learning platform.

This easy-to-use learning platform includes interactive checkpoints, quizzes and activities to help you evaluate your progress.

You’ll have access to support from a personal tutor. All NEC tutors are subject experts, with experience of supporting online learners.

Meet Linda who is just one of our first-class business tutors:

“I am passionate about business, both from an academic and practical point of view. I have been since I was the MD of a Young Enterprise company when I was 17. Since then I have had many jobs in industry, have helped many charities and, more recently, taught the subject. I have been in the classroom for over 10 years, but also continue to support many small and new businesses to prosper. I believe that detailed feedback and encouragement to improve in small steps is the way to achieve educational potential which is the appeal of one-to-one online tutoring. My qualifications include a BSc in Business Studies, MA in Organisational Behaviour, PCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) and the graduate diplomas from several professional bodies, including the Institute of Marketing.”

Exam board

• Edexcel 4BS1

Format

• Online learning with support from a personal tutor

Hours

• Complete at your own pace
• Approx. 120-150*  hours plus time for completing assignments

*The specification suggests that 150 hours is needed. You’ll also need time to complete assignments and prepare yourself for exams and some courses like English literature involve a lot of reading. Everyone is different so it’s impossible to say with certainty how long a course will take you, but you should expect to spend longer than 150 hours. Taken across the length of time we recommend, this equates to approximately 4 hours per week. This will increase if you choose to take it over a shorter time frame or may be less if you are retaking a subject and have covered a lot of of the course content .

Assignments

• 9 assignments (one introductory) – these do not contribute towards your final grade

Resources

• No additional set texts required

Requirements

• there are some recommendations you may wish to refer to for additional reading
• Internet access
• Computer operating system and browser to support learn@nec

Our course fees are clear and transparent to help you plan for any additional costs.

Your course fee includes:

• 24/7 access to learn@nec platform and resources
• Expertly designed online course materials (including ebook versions of textbooks where specified) that you need to complete the course and written to cover the carefully selected awarding body specification
• Support from our Student Services team
• Structured assignments to help you track your progress throughout your course
• Guidance from your tutor for up to 18 months from your date of enrolment
• Constructive feedback on your assignments from your tutor, to help you improve and prepare for exams
• Guaranteed exam place
• NEC’s guide to study skills: How to Succeed as an Independent Learner
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar guide
• Time planner template to help you plan your study timetable
• Information on how to apply for exams

Your course fee does not cover:

• Any fees in relation to exam entries or assessments
• Centre Assessment Grades (CAG) in the event of exam cancellation
• Recommended textbooks for additional reading or set texts
• Equipment for core practicals

If you need more support, you can purchase:

• Online tutorials – if you need help with a specific topic you can arrange a 30 minute or 1 hour tutorial
• Additional past paper marking – to help with your exam preparation
• Revision tutorial –  to plan your revision and explore revision techniques
• Help with your UCAS application service

For further information on additional/optional support you can purchase, please visit our additional services page.

Exams (two):

• 50% of marks  (1 hour 30 minutes)
• 50% of marks (1 hour 30  minutes)

There is no non-exam assessment (NEA) for this course

We know that our younger students often need an extra helping hand with their studies. In our experience learning online works best when either a parent or guardian are involved. This is why NEC has developed our unique Progress Tracker to help you to support your child.

NEC’s Progress Tracker will allow you to easily track your child’s progress across their subjects and gain insight to how well they are doing through access to their assignment grades and tutor feedback.  

Read more about how we work with young students who are studying at home or through a school.

Would you like to talk to our Course Advice Team about the best route for you? Visit our Contact Us page, fill in the form and a member of the team will get back to you!