GCSE Business on the Rise - as Edexcel Powers Ahead

The June 2013 examination statistics for GCSE once again make interesting reading at a macro level - though it is the individual student performance that is always most important.

The 2013 statistics make encouraging reading for supporters of GCSE Business Studies. Candidate entries rose by 7,668 (10.9%) to 78,141.

However, this increase needs to be seen against a backdrop of an overall 4% increase in GCSE entries (all subjects) from 5.2 to 5.4 million, an increase of 220,000 entries. Nevertheless, Business Studies grew much faster than GCSE entries overall joining the likes of Geography (19.2% rise) and History (16.7%) as subjects enjoying growth. Compare that to poor old D&T which saw a drop of 20,000 entries (9%) and combined Science (100,000 fewer entries).

Most of the extra GCSE Business Studies students were examined under the Edexcel specification with their candidate numbers rising 5,000 to 31,000. As a result, Edexcel has established a clear lead in terms of the most popular GCSE Business Studies spec. In 2013, Edexcel had a market share of 39.6% compared with the next most popular AQA (28.1%) with OCR languishing at just 15%.

In recent years Edexcel has chipped away at AQA's previously dominant position for GCSE Business Studies and the latest stats certainly support the qualitative views we often get from talking to centres who have switched from AQA or OCR to Edexcel.

It just goes to show how a more modern, relevant specification can lead to substantial changes in market share among the exam boards. I wonder whether AQA, OCR and Edexcel have considered that as they develop the new A Level Business Studies for first teaching in Sept 2015! We shall see