Hello and welcome to Reigate College’s Business Department.
My name is Michelle Theophilus and I’m Extended Certificate Business Year 1 Course Leader and Senior Tutor. I’m really pleased you’ve chosen to study Business at Reigate College and my colleagues and I are looking forward to meeting you when you join our thriving department at the beginning of the academic year.
To prepare you for the course, we’d like you to complete a series of tasks and activities over the coming months. They should all be completed independently from home and then we’ll share together what you’ve learnt when you start the course in September. It would also be really helpful if you could keep a close eye on the news – particularly stories relating to the world of business.
The tasks are organised in three distinct steps and should all be completed by Choices Day on 25 August 2026. This is to give you the best insight into what the courses will be like and/or help prepare you for them.
Please note, some Course Leaders (for example for Music) may release their tasks earlier, as they may form part of the College’s audition process. If this applies to you, you’ll be notified separately.
New Starters Course Tasks and Activities
| Release date | Suggested Completion Dates | |
| Explore your Subject | 1 June | 1 July |
| Get Going | 1 June | 1 August |
| Aim High | 1 June | 1 September |
Case Study Focus
Read the Pizza The Action case study and summarise the main points in a Word report. List the headings in your report as below and complete with your findings.
- Who is their competition?
- What is their aim?
- How big is the pizza industry?
- How much is it worth?
Leaflet Design
Create a professional 4-paged leaflet on the following companies. Comparing and contrasting: Cancer Research and Adidas.
- How do they advertise their products and how much is spent on their advertising and marketing?
- Compare their websites; navigation, images, look and feel of the website
- What charities, if any, do they support?
- Where do they get their income from?
News Research
Please summarise the questions below numbered 1, 2 and 3. We have added a list of websites you can use to help or you can find your own but you must copy and paste the website used in your work for reference purposes.
- The Guardian – Business and UK News
- BBC News – Four takeaways from 2024’s GCSE results
- Sky News – UK News
- BBC News – Economy
How are the following reported by the news and social media? Provide evidence in the form of a report.
- Find information using a current report on the economy discussing the following – inflation rate, employment rate, cost of living, interest rates. Discuss the impact this has on the country.
- How are A Level/GCSE exam results reported in the news and media in the UK for August 2025. Please summarise in a paragraph.
- How is climate change/weather and its effect on the UK and worldwide reported by the news and social media. Please summarise in a paragraph.
Extended Certificate Business (Year 1 Course Leader) and Senior Tutor (M Faculty)
