IAL Core Courses Curriculum for Year's 12 & 13
iAL - Also known as International Advanced Level (A-Level) is Years 12 & 13 in the Edexcel curriculum.
A-levels Course Specifications
Pearsons Edexcel International Advanced Level (A-levels) courses/subjects are structured in a way to give students the best chance at scoring well in their board examinations. This is done by dividing each subject in units covering specific topics and each unit has an exam. The 100% of the course grade is divided in these units.
To complete a full A-Level course, students must give exams for all the units of that course. Students can choose to give all the units together in one exam season or choose to give them separately in either the January or June exam seasons. This gives students an opportunity to divide their study load and to re-sit particular units they might have not done well in, in order to improve their over all course grade.
Three(3) is the minimum number of courses BIS Karachi Campus Students are required to take. Moreover, we recommend every student to take a minimum of four(4) courses as this can better their chances at successful enrolments at their desired universities.
However, the number of courses you wish to enrol for is left to your discretion as long as its above the required number number of courses (3). We want students to be given the chance to chose their own pace and how much they wish to take on each term.
Business Studies
Business Unit 1: Content Overview
- Meeting customer needs
- The market
- Marketing mix and strategy
- Managing people
- Entrepreneurs and leaders
Business Unit 1 description:
In this unit, students are introduced to the market, explore the marketing and people functions and investigate entrepreneurs and business start-up. This unit enables students to understand how businesses identify opportunities and to explore how businesses focus on developing a competitive advantage through interacting with customers.
Students develop an understanding of how businesses need to adapt their marketing to operate in a dynamic business environment. It also considers people, exploring how businesses recruit, train, organise and motivate employees, as well as the role of enterprising individuals and leaders.
Students should investigate different types and sizes of organisation in various business sectors and environments, and in local, national and global contexts. Students need to have acquired competence in quantitative skills that are relevant to this unit. A full list of quantitative skills will be provided at the start of the course.
Business Unit 2: Content Overview
- Planning a business and raising finance
- Financial planning
- Managing finance
- Resource management
- External influences
Business Unit 2 description:
In this unit, students explore the finance and operations functions, and investigate external influences on business. This unit enables students to develop an understanding of raising and managing finance, and measuring business performance. It outlines the importance of using resources efficiently within a business to ensure that goods or services can be delivered effectively and efficiently, and to a high quality. Students also consider the external influences that have an impact on businesses, including economic and legal factors.
Students should investigate different types and sizes of organisation in various business sectors and environments, and in local, national and global contexts. Students need to have acquired competence in quantitative skills relevant to this unit. A full list of quantitative skills can be found in Appendix 7: Quantitative skills. For this unit, students will also need to be able to apply the accounting ratios of Financial statements and accounting ratios. These ratios will not be supplied in the examination.
Business Unit 3: Content overview
- Business objectives and strategy
- Business growth
- Decision-making techniques
- Influences on business decisions
- Assessing competitiveness
- Managing change
Business Unit 3 description:
In this unit, students develop their understanding of the concepts introduced in Units 1 and 2, and explore influences on business strategy and decision-making. This unit moves from functions to strategy, enabling students to develop their understanding of the core concepts and to take a strategic view of business opportunities and issues.
Students analyse corporate objectives and strategy against financial and non-financial performance measures and how businesses grow, and develop an understanding of the impact of external influences. The unit also covers the causes and effects of change and how businesses mitigate risk and uncertainty.
Students should investigate different types and sizes of organisation in various business sectors and environments, and in local, national and global contexts.
Students need to have acquired competence in quantitative skills that are relevant to this unit. A full list of quantitative skills can be found in Appendix 7: Quantitative skills. For this unit, students will also need to be able to apply the accounting ratios from Financial statements and accounting ratios. These ratios will not be supplied in the examination.
Business Unit 4: Content overview
- Business objectives and strategy
- Business growth
- Decision-making techniques
- Influences on business decisions
- Assessing competitiveness
- Managing change
Business Unit 4 description:
In this unit, students develop their understanding of the concepts introduced in Units 1, 2 and 3, and explore business activity in a global context.
Students investigate businesses that trade on a global scale and explore their reasons for doing so. Students develop an understanding of the globally competitive environment and consider the ethical and moral dimensions of global business activities. In this unit, it is important to note that the impacts of globalisation and global markets covered in 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 will need to be understood in relation to businesses.
Students should investigate different types and sizes of organisation in various business sectors and environments. Students need to have acquired competence in quantitative skills relevant to this unit.
Accounting
Accounting Unit 1 Content Overview
Students will be assessed on their knowledge, understanding and skills of accounting systems and costing.
This unit is divided into six topics:
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Principles of accounting and double entry bookkeeping
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Control procedures
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Financial statements of organizations
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Introduction of costing
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Analysis of accounting statements
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Social and ethical accounting
Accounting Unit 2: Contect Overview
Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of and skills in corporate and management accounting.
This unit is divided into nine topics:
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Limited Companies
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Investment ratios
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Statement of cash flows
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Budgeting
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Standard costing
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Project appraisal
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Break-even analysis
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Marginal costing and absorption costing
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Information and communication technology (ICT) in accounting.
Economics
• Introductory concepts
• Consumer behavior and demand
• Supply
• Price determination
• Market failure
• Government intervention in markets
This unit gives students an introduction to the nature of economics and examines how the price mechanism allocates resources in local, national and global markets.
Students will learn to apply supply and demand analysis to real-world situations, and will be able to suggest reasons for consumer behavior.
This will involve looking at how consumers act in a rational way to maximise utility and how firms maximise profit but also why consumers may not behave rationally. Students will analyse the nature and causes of market failure and understand the strengths and weaknesses of possible policy remedies.
Students will need to be able to apply relevant quantitative skills to the content covered in this unit, including calculations, the use of data and the drawing of diagrams
• Measures of economic performance
• Aggregate demand (AD)
• Aggregate supply (AS)
• National income
• Economic growth
• Macroeconomic objectives and policies
Unit 2: Description
This unit introduces the key measures of economic performance and the main objectives and instruments of economic policy in an international context. Students will learn how to use a basic AD/AS model to analyse changes in real output and the price level.
Students will look at when demand and/or supply side policies may be appropriate ways of improving an economy’s performance; consider these policies in an historical context; predict the possible impact of such policies and recognize the assumptions involved. Students should understand different approaches that may be used by policy makers to address macroeconomic problems and to identify criteria for success.
Students will need to be able to apply relevant quantitative skills to the content covered introduced in this unit, including calculations, the use of data and the drawing of diagrams.
Economics Unit 3: Content Overview
• Types and sizes of businesses
• Revenue, costs and profits
• Market structures and contestability
• Labour markets
• Government intervention
Unit 3: Description
This unit develops the content of Unit 1 and examines how pricing and the nature of competition between firms is affected by the number and size of market participants. At the end of this unit, students should be able to analyse and evaluate the pricing and output decisions of firms in different contexts, and understand the role of competition in business decision-making.
They should also be capable of making an appraisal of government intervention aimed at promoting competitive markets.
Students will need to be able to apply relevant quantitative skills to the content covered introduced in this unit, including calculations, the use of data and the drawing of diagrams.
Economics Unit 4: Content Overview
• Causes and effects of globalisation
• Trade and the global economy
• Balance of payments, exchange rates and international competitiveness
• Poverty and inequality
• The role of the state in the macro economy
• Growth and development in developing, emerging and developed economies
Unit 4: Description
This unit develops the knowledge and skills gained in Unit 2. The application, analysis and evaluation of economic models is required, as well as an ability to assess policies that might be used to deal with economic problems. An awareness of trends and developments in the global economy over the last 40 years, including contemporary issues, is required.
Wider reading and research will enable students to use up-to-date and relevant examples in their analysis and evaluation of issues and developments in the global economy.
Students will need to be able to apply relevant quantitative skills to the content covered in this unit, including calculations, the use of data and the drawing of diagrams.
Mathematics - Statistics - Progression for Students with a background in Commerce in O-levels
TO BE UPDATED
Physics
TO BE UPDATED
Biology
TO BE UPDATED
Chemistry
TO BE UPDATED
TO BE UPDATED
English
Urdu
Mathematics - Mechanics - Progression for students with a background in Sciences in O-levels.