Former Student - Update

You may recall I blogged a few months ago about former student Michael Border's visit to the college whilst he was home on holiday from university. I managed to persuade him to write an article about his first few months away at the University of Worcester where he is studying Business Management. Thanks for taking the time to write for us Michael:

The summer of 2011 brought to an end seven memorable years at Newton Abbot College and a time of my life that I will never forget because of highlights such as completing the Ten Tors challenge in 2008 which is an event that I highly recommend everyone to take part in.

Results day in August 2011 was the beginning of a new chapter of my life by achieving the results that I needed to get into the University of Worcester and carry on my education in business management.  That day made the previous two years of hard work worthwhile as it allowed me to go on to another exciting period.

University is an experience that I would recommend that everyone takes on because it is such an exciting time.  Since I moved to the University of Worcester I have made so many friends from all over the country and got myself involved in lots of societies that allow you to meet lots of new people both inside and outside of the university.

Freshers’ week is one of the best weeks of the year because there is no work and the university put on lots of activities for freshers to take part in.  At the university of Worcester there were many events that took place in the evenings that help you to get to know lots of new people.  For example there was a pub quiz that they put on which we took part in as a flat from my halls of residence, and a ghost walk that visited many of Worcester’s older buildings which was very interesting.  Also there was the Ffreshers’ Ball at which Alex Zane and Chris Fountain were the DJs. 

During the first semester there have been lots of acts performing in the local nightclub including all of the X Factors finalists as they get kicked out of the show! The following week they will perform in Worcester and many other universities.  Also during this semester on one of the nights we have had “I’m a Celebrity “runner up Mark Wright doing a DJ set.

Overall, the step from Newton Abbot College to university is the best decision that I have made because it has meant that I have made so many great friends that I will never forget.  It is an experience that everyone who has the opportunity should take.  Remember though, there is a lot of hard work too - so be prepared.

Mike Border

Developing your exam technique in A Level Business Studies

Doing well in your exams is not just about what you know. It's also about the application of your understanding to a given case study, providing an analysis where you develop a balanced argument and then stating your opinion and providing an evaluation.

Below is a presentation taking you through how you can achieve higher-level answers in the exam. The presentation looks at each assessment objective and breaks it down so that you can see what the examiner is looking for when they are marking your work. It is also available on Moodle.

One thing that we are starting to notice more when marking AS and A Level answers is the lack of planning involved in answering the question you have been given.  Included in the power point is one proven method known as PEE, this stands for Paragraph point, Evidence (examples & explanation) and Evaluation. This planning tool makes you think about what you are going to write so that you can carefully plan how you will be able to develop an argument and support your argument with evidence from the case study, thus enabling you to write a higher-level answer.

Try using these techniques in the next practice exam question and see if you can achieve that higher-level answer.

A great way to enhance your CV / UCAS application

Well done to Melissa Gunstone (Year 13 Business Studies) who took the initiative and organised herself a voluntary work placement with the Dame Hnnah Rogers Trust at Seale Hayne. Melissa hadn't studied the subject at GCSE, but since taking it at A level has decided it's what she wants to study at university. Working one afternoon a week, Melissa has been able to experience what it's like in the real world of business and make excellent use of some of the marketing & finance knowledge she has gained from her studies. Here is her Blog Post:

By Melissa Gunstone (Year 13)

Since the Summer of 2011, I have been working voluntarily at the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust at Seale Hayne. Here I have been able to conduct first-hand market research for future business ventures such as their Christmas and Wedding hospitality packages and the new 'Cake House' retail outlet. These have brought  challenges regarding setting budgets, assessing the competition and meeting tight deadlines. My involvement has enabled me to attend business meetings where I have been asked to contribute ideas of my own, thereby improving my presentational skills and self-confidence. One meeting involved discussing design ideas for cake packaging and the wedding and Christmas brochures and coming to decisions on which designs would best reflect the business and capture customers' interest through effective use of the Trust's unique selling point (USP); it's beautiful location. I was also involved in the organisation of a bridal fair, which again brought many challenges. It's fair to say the greatest challenge was effective communication between departments within the organisation as well as with the media regarding promotion of the event. Overall, the fair was a great success and I gained valuable experience in organising a high-profile, corporate event.