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GCSE Business Subjects and Economics

A-level & GCSE Economics support meetings

Courses to support your teaching of A Level and GCSE Economics are now available to book for this summer and autumn:

Getting started with AS and A2 Microeconomics
Getting started with AS and A2 Macroeconomics
Getting started in GCSE Units 11 and 12

To find out more or to book online visit Courses and Events.

A-level Accounting Getting Started meetings

Courses to support your teaching of A Level Accounting are now available to book for this summer and autumn.

To find out more or to book online visit Courses and Events.

June 2012 exams update:
Exam tips – how students can make best use of answer books

June 2012 Business Studies

Unit code	Title	Numbering system	Type of answer book	No pp	Provided by student
413001	Setting up a Business	Conventional	Combined	n/a
413002	Growing as a Business	Conventional	Combined	n/a
413007	Business Finance	Conventional	Combined	n/a	Calculator
413008	ICT Systems in Business	Conventional	Combined	n/a
413009	Using ICT in Business	New (01, 02, etc)	Separate	n/a
413011	Personal Economics	Conventional	Combined	n/a
413012	Investigating Economic Issues	Conventional	Combined	n/a
413013	Business Start Up	Conventional	Combined	n/a

General advice

Students should:

read all instructions on the front cover and at the start of each section of the question paper
read each question carefully before responding, especially where there are optional question(s)
remember that questions can appear on all pages of a question paper, including the final page.

Combined question paper answer books

Students should look at the number of marks and the line space allocated to each question and write answers of an appropriate length.

If a student needs more space to answer a question, they must:
either use the white space immediately beneath the lined answer space and before the start of the next question
or ask for an AQA four-page Supplementary answer book.

They should not:

use the answer space for a different question
write in the margin
respond elsewhere in the answer book.

Separate answer books and the two-digit numbering system

Students worked well with the two-digit numbering system and separate answer books in 2011 exams; thank you for ensuring that the guidance was applied successfully. We have updated our guides for students, teachers and exams officers / invigilators to reflect the general advice given above.

Further information

A reminder: question paper style and marking answers on screen
Exams with separate question papers and answer books (unconstrained answer books) will use:

our simplified, two-digit question numbering system
answer books with spaces for students to write the two-digit question numbers.

For additional guidance see:

Question papers and mark schemes:

Summer 2011 materials are available to schools / colleges in the Secure Key Materials area of e-AQA
Specimen materials are available from the subject pages of aqa.org.uk

Examples of students' work:

AQA Research team papers:

Marking answers on screen

New AQA Numbering System

Nested Numbering

Support for Business subjects: summer – early autumn 2012

Courses to support your teaching of A Level and GCSE Business Subjects are now available to book.

All the details, including dates and locations, can be found in the CPD Business subjects programme. Delegates have described our previous CPD training courses as 'superb', 'inspirational' and 'providing high quality professional enhancement'. We are confident that any members of your staff who attend will find these courses of great benefit.

To check meeting availability and book online, visit Courses and Events, or call 0161 957 3646.

Preliminary Material

Please note that all preliminary material will appear on eAQA under Secure Key Materials (SKM).

These materials are no longer sent in hard copy unless teachers specifically request them from AQA. All these materials will also be available on the Business Subjects webpage in the relevant subject area.

GCSE Economics 413012 Unit 12 - Teachers' Notes

Teachers' notes for June 2012 and June 2013 are currently available on e-AQA.

A specimen question and mark scheme have been produced on the topic of Dominant Firms. This can be found in the Teacher Resource Bank for GCSE Economics.

Secure Key Materials

Secure Key Materials is a new e-AQA service which replaces Recent Exam Materials from 1 September. It provides teachers and Exams Officers with exclusive access to a bank of exam-related material that is:

secure
easy to navigate
quick to use
intuitive, based on the design of our website.

Please read our new leaflet and look at the following demo to find out more about this new service.

To obtain an e-AQA account and access to Secure Key Materials, please register at e-AQA. For more information about the materials published on Secure Key Materials, please don't hesitate to contact the Subject team.

Personal Economics for PSHE courses

The short course in Personal Economics has been developed to help centres meet the PSHE requirements for Economic Wellbeing and Financial Capability. Please see our PSHE leaflet to find out more.

We have produced a guide on how the specification has been mapped against these requirements.

The Short Course in Personal Economics can be found in our Business Subjects and Economics specification. See Unit 11.

A scheme of work has been developed for delivering this course.

For more information on Personal Economics, contact economics@aqa.org.uk

Personal Economics – Case studies

Controlled Assessment

GCSE Business Studies

The Controlled Assessment task for submission in 2013 is now available on e-AQA.

GCSE Business and Communication Systems

The Controlled Assessment task for submission in 2013 is now available on e-AQA.

Teacher Network Group

A Teacher Network Group has recently been set up to offer teachers of GCSE Business Subjects and Economics a means of contacting each other regarding subject matters.

If you have not yet registered your details with us, please fill out the application form in the Teacher Resource Bank and send it to the subject department.

01483 477 721