Using the Edexcel A2 SuperGroup Toolkit

Author Mark Tottman provides some extra guidance for Edexcel students about how to make the best of his superb Unit 4a revision toolkit on SuperGroup:

Mark Tottman

I have been teaching the Edexcel Business Studies specification for the last nine years. Each year, in conjunction with Tutor2u, I have written a toolkit to support teachers and pupils in their understanding of the annual business case study. I am sometimes asked how the toolkit can be best deployed in conjunction with teaching the Unit 4 module.

As a start point, it is important to bear in mind that the exam board tends to focus their examination questions on the pre-released material, which is a narrow snapshot of the overall business, in this case the fashion retailer, SuperGroup. So the toolkit cannot be a substitute for reviewing and dissecting the different pieces of Evidence provided by Edexcel.

My approach in the first half of the toolkit is to supplement Edexcel’s information and to place it into a strategic framework so that pupils and teachers can get a reasonably quick strategic snapshot of how the whole company works, thereby completing some of the gaps vacated by the limited information in the pre-release. In the second half of the toolkit, I offer some potential strategic options for SuperGroup which can provide the basis for classroom discussion as well as the potential content for the 30 mark essay question in Section B.

A good way to use the toolkit is to unleash section 1 “Thinking Strategically” in the first couple of lessons. This gives pupils the chance to make the transition from last year’s AS Level work, which was largely explanatory and static in terms of business activities, to the more exploratory and forward looking nature of Unit 4.

Section 2, “Strategic Analysis of SuperGroup” can then be used in conjunction with the pre-released Evidence to teach parts 1, 2 and 3 of the specification (probably in that order). For example, pupils can be encouraged to produce a SWOT analysis of SuperGroup and their answers can be compared with the model presented in the toolkit as a basis for further discussion. There are also half a dozen practice questions in this section which can be used either as homework, or as part of a practice exam or to structure a classroom debate with groups arguing different viewpoints. This is a good way to encourage and develop Level 3 Analysis and Level 4 Evaluation skills.

The final section of the toolkit, “Strategic Options for Supergroup” is best deployed towards the end of the course in conjunction with part 4 of the specification (Company Growth) and alongside the components of part 1 relating to Michael Porter and part 2 relating to the Ansoff Matrix.

It is important for pupils to read widely around the case study, partly to enhance their overall enjoyment and appreciation of the case study, but also because the final examination includes an additional piece of unseen Evidence upon which pupils will be expected to comment or write an essay. The more they know about SuperGroup, the more confident they will feel on examination day.

Good luck as you study your way through the world of global fashion retailing.