The CCEA/ICAAE GCSE in Business and Communication Systems has been developed to take account of the revised Subject Criteria for both Information and Communication Technology and Business Studies, the Common Criteria and the revised GCSE General Criteria published by the regulatory authorities in March 2000.

This new specification has been developed to meet the needs of students wishing to integrate aspects of the business world with the practical use of key ICT applications, including publishing, spreadsheets, databases, multimedia and communications, and thereby covering the Key Stage 4 Programme of Study in ICT. Students are expected to choose, use and design information and communication systems to carry out a range of business tasks and to solve problems. The specification aims to produce future employees who have a sound knowledge and understanding of business and communication systems and who have the ability and confidence to put their knowledge, skills and understanding to practical use.

The subject content is divided into five areas of study:

Unit 1 - Business and its environment
Unit 2 - Human Resources
Unit 3 - Workplace Organisation and Production
Unit 4 - Marketing
Unit 5 - Finance and accounting

Opportunities for developing and generating evidence for the assessment of Key Skills are indicated.

The specification is assessed through three distinct units:

Unit 1 - IT Key Skills Test (20%)
As the specification permits staged assessment, students entered for Foundation tier will take the Level 1 IT Key Skills Test (1 hour) and students entered for Higher tier will take the Level 2 IT Key Skills Test (1 hour). The Test will be externally marked and will be available in May/June each year.

Unit 2 - Coursework (40%)
Students are required to complete and submit a piece of coursework of approximately 20 hours’ duration. They will need to identify, research and analyse a business problem for which the use of ICT would present a solution. The coursework will comprise one (or more) substantial piece(s) of work which will be supplemented, as appropriate, by other evidence that may have been produced as part of the learning activities during the course. The coursework is internally marked and externally moderated.

Unit 3 - Terminal Examination (40%)
The Terminal Examination will be 1½ hours’ long and the examination papers (Foundation tier and Higher tier) will contain four questions on each paper, with areas of overlap between the two papers. The examination will focus on the use of ICT in a business setting. Each year, Centres will be informed of the context to be used for the examination. The information will be issued to Centres in the summer term of the year prior to the examination. Teachers might choose to offer students experience of the context through work that could be included in the Coursework Portfolio. There is no requirement to do this.