Edexcel’s GCSE Business pilot

2009 and the current Edexcel pilot GCSE in Business

Edexcel are not recruiting any new centres for their pilot GCSE Business for teaching starting in September 2008. If you want to know more about the kinds of things that pilot centres are doing, the best thing to do is to subscribe to Edexcels eBUS service, which provides regular information on the pilot.

QCA is currently reviewing proposed GCSE specifications for teaching from 2009. The new GCSE in Business & Economics will be similar to the current pilot course. But the second year of the course will be assessed by an exam rather than coursework as at present. Teachers who switched from the Nuffield GCSE to the pilot course in 2006 have found the Year 11 course content very familiar in content and style.

The news from the schools that are following Edexcel's GCSE Business pilot is good. They are enjoying both teaching and learning and Edexcel's resources (eBUS) are helping.

The textbook for the second year of the Business & Economics course, 'Introduction to Economics Understanding' by our chief examiner, Andrew Ashwin is published by Hodder Arnold. This book is designed for the pilot being run by Edexcel. But many teachers will find it a useful source of ideas for other courses, as well as a source of information about likely future developments. It is expected that the new Edexcel GCSE course for teaching from 2009 will be very like the pilot.