Secondary Business - BTEC Level 3

Which businesses should I use for BTEC Level 3?

When writing an interesting and realistic assignment, it can be difficult to use the right businesses and organisations. Which ones are the best to use? Some may prefer to use businesses that boys ‘like’ and relate to, such as Apple or McDonalds, others may prefer businesses which give a range of resources and information.

I solve this issue by using Wimbledon Tennis Museum and Thorpe Park. They tick nearly all the boxes; fun, interesting, good venue for a trip, cross unit relevance and the boys like them!

Thorpe Park is a superb business to use. As part of the Merlin group, leading the way in theme park entertainment. The trip itself is easy to organise, with the student pack available on their website: (http://www.thorpepark.com/misc/student-pack.aspx).

The students can do some preliminary research before they go, perhaps writing questionnaires to give to staff, or investigating the size and scale of the business. During the day the students can attend pre-booked sessions on HR, Marketing and Promotion, ICT and Thorpe Park as a business. These give the students the exact information they need to complete the tasks in their assignment.

Thorpe Park can be used for a range of units especially:

• Unit 1: The Business Environment
• Unit 2: Business Resources
• Unit 3: Introduction to Marketing
• Unit 10: Market research in business
• Unit 16: Human Resource Management in Business

Wimbledon Tennis Museum is an excellent contrast to Thorpe Park and offers the students an organisation they may hear and see a lot on television but one which they know relatively little about. A trip to Wimbledon gives the students access to a tour of the grounds (including centre court!) as well as visiting the museum itself. (http://www.wimbledon.com/visiting/education/secondary).

Specific talks from the staff can be booked and the students have enjoyed it each time I have been.  The Marketing and Customer Service talks link nicely with Units 1, 2 and 3. Both trips are well priced and easy to access through public transport.

And the best bit? You will enjoy this as much as the students!

Mr A. Dean 
Head of Business and Enterprise, The John Fisher School and author of Collins BTEC National Business resources