Business Studies - The ‘Soft A-Level’? (But which one?)

Teachers are eagerly awaiting the findings of QCA in the relative difficulty of A-Levels (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7241550.stm) Following the apparent blacklisting of Business Studies as a ‘soft subject’ by certain universities this is an interesting area for Business Studies teachers - especially in light of the University of Durham’s research that in fact placed Business Studies in the ‘hard’ subject grouping.

What the research does not say, is whether this was GCE or Applied GCE Business. Has the above blacklisting affected your A-Level numbers or typical student profile?

Do Business Studies teachers think there be an equivalence between top grades in A2 Business Studies and Travel & Tourism?

Is the Applied GCE easier than GCE Business due to the high level of centre set coursework allowing multiple attempts by students from staff under pressure to deliver results, or is it just assessing something rather different to the traditional exam based GCE?

To what extent do Economics teachers feel that Business Studies is a soft option? How do the results of students who take both GCE Business Studies and Economics in schools compare?

What do business teachers feel is driving the growth of OCR Nationals and BTEC National Diplomas? - is this is a growth in the belief of vocational education, or in the words of a Teacher in a recent ‘Latte’ magazine article because they produce “Fantastic Value Added Results”?

Your thoughts?