Enterprise and Marketing
“I made 5127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5126 failures. But I learned from each one. That is how I came up with a solution.” James Dyson
Enterprise and Marketing at Ruislip High aims, through mostly vocational learning scenarios, to prepare at Key stage 4 for work in the business sector. We follow the OCR Vocational specification which includes a balance between coursework and an external exam.
Students who choose Enterprise and Marketing at KS4 learn finance, how businesses function and the roles of employees within organisations. The course allows students to develop applied knowledge and practical skills which will prepare students for further study and the world of work.
All students will study three mandatory topics: enterprise and marketing concepts; design a business proposal; market and pitch a business proposal.
Year 10 and Year 11
R067: Enterprise and marketing concepts
In this unit, students will learn how market research gives an entrepreneur an insight into the wants and needs of their customers, so that products and services can be developed to satisfy them. It also complements other competing products and services on the market to ensure a financially viable business.
As well as understanding the target market’s needs, students will learn how the marketing mix elements must be carefully blended to enhance business performance. They will examine each element individually and explore the decisions that an entrepreneur needs to make. They will learn about the types of ownership for an enterprise and sources of capital available. Running a successful enterprise can be tough, but there is a lot of support available, which students will learn about so that they can understand how to obtain timely and appropriate guidance.
R068: Design a business proposal
In this unit, students will learn how to develop market research tools and use these to complete market research. They will use their research findings to decide who their customers will be, create a design mix and produce product design ideas.
To help decide on the final design, students will gain feedback and then assess the strengths and weaknesses of their initial ideas. They will complete financial calculations to determine whether the proposal is likely to make a profit. They will use the evidence generated to decide whether they think that the new product is likely to be financially viable.
On completion of this unit, students will have gained some of the essential skills and knowledge needed if they want to start a business, but also the transferable skills of creativity, self-assessment, providing and receiving feedback, research and evaluation. The skills and knowledge developed from this unit will also be transferable to further learning in and when completing unit R069 Market and pitch a business proposal.
Year 11
R069: Market and pitch a business proposal
In this unit, students will learn how to design a brand which will make their product stand out in the market, before creating a promotional campaign to get the brand noticed by customers. Their promotional campaign will include choosing different methods of promotion which they think are most suitable for their target customers. They will then need to create a presentation to pitch to an audience. To help prepare for this, they will first practise in front of their peers, asking them to review the presentation and feedback ways to improve it. They will also need to offer feedback to others in the group about their pitches. After delivering their professional pitch to an audience, they will reflect on their pitching skills, brand, promotional campaign and the likely success of the product.
On completion of this unit, students will have gained some of the essential skills and knowledge needed to start a business. They will also have gained the transferable skills of creativity, self-assessment, providing and receiving feedback, communication and evaluation.
Examination Board
OCR - Cambridge Nationals Enterprise and Marketing Level 1/2 Certificate - J837
% Components
- R067 (40% exam - externally assessed)
- R068 and R069 which are both internally assessed units - 30% each.