IGCSE Business
Studies, case-study
ready.
Cambridge 0450 / 0986 Business Studies coaching — full syllabus, full past-paper case study drills, and the 8-mark structured-response technique that unlocks A* in Paper 2.
Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies. Full 6-unit syllabus plus Paper 2 case-study technique — coached to A*/A standards.
Business is won or lost on Paper 2.
IGCSE Business Studies is one of the most popular non-science IGCSEs in Vietnam for students heading into business, management, marketing or entrepreneurship at university. It is also one of the most underprepared — because most international school classrooms do not drill the case-study Paper 2 technique that separates the A* candidates from everyone else.
Where the marks are actually won
Paper 1 is broadly factual and does not usually cause problems for prepared students. Paper 2 is a dense business case study where the top grades require students to apply the full theory set to a specific real-world scenario under 1h 45m of pressure. This is the skill we drill most intensively.
Our coaching
Every Times Edu Business student works through one full past-paper case study per week from week 4 onwards, with marker-style feedback on their application quality, evaluation balance and business-context accuracy.
The full content we cover in 1:1 lessons.
Every Times Edu Business Studies mentor maps lessons directly to the official syllabus objectives below — so nothing on the exam is a surprise.
Business Activity
Needs, wants, added value, enterprise and business size.
People in Business
Motivation, leadership, HRM and communication.
Marketing
4 Ps, market research, segmentation and e-commerce.
Operations Management
Production, productivity, quality, lean and location.
Financial Information
Costs, revenue, profit, cash flow and accounts.
External Influences
Stakeholders, government, economy, environment and globalisation.
Case Study Technique
Paper 2 application-evaluation structure for 6 and 12-mark questions.
Business Terminology
Precise use of technical vocabulary expected in the mark scheme.
The papers your child will actually sit.
Knowing exactly what each paper demands — and how it is marked — is half the battle. Here is the full breakdown.
Short-Answer
Broad-coverage short-response questions across all six units.
Case Study
Dense business case study with data tables, accounts and application questions.
Application
Structured responses combining theory with specific case facts.
Evaluation
Extended responses with full "on one hand / on the other" argument structure.
Why even strong students lose grades here.
These are the three traps we see most often in diagnostic sessions with new IGCSE Business Studies students — and they are all fixable.
Generic answers
The Paper 2 mark scheme specifically rewards use of case-study facts. Students who write generic textbook answers without quoting the case lose the upper half of every question.
No evaluation
Twelve-mark questions require a judgement. Students who only explain advantages and disadvantages — without weighing them — cap at 7/12.
Terminology laziness
The mark scheme has specific terms — "cash flow" not "money", "stakeholders" not "people involved". We drill the vocabulary list weekly.
From diagnostic to final grade.
Paper 2 used to terrify me. After twelve weeks with Times Edu, I actually enjoyed the case study on exam day. Final: A*.
The questions we always get about Business Studies.
Have a specific question about your child's situation? Book a free 60-minute diagnostic and our specialist will answer every one.
My child has no business background at home — does that matter?
Not at all. The IGCSE syllabus is entirely self-contained and we teach it from first principles. Students from non-business families often do better because they have no preconceived ideas to unlearn.
Is Business Studies taken more seriously than Economics?
For business and management programmes at university, Business Studies is often seen as more directly relevant. For Economics, PPE or quantitative programmes, Economics carries more weight. Many students take both.
Do you drill real past-paper case studies?
Yes — extensively. We have a library of every Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies case study from the last 8 years and drill them week by week in the lead-up to the exam. This is non-negotiable for A* outcomes.
What is the hardest part of the course for Vietnamese students?
Usually the financial unit (costs, revenue, profit calculations, cash flow) — because it combines maths with business terminology, and the terms are often subtly different from everyday Vietnamese business vocabulary. We cover it intensively in weeks 4–6.
Ready to turn IGCSE Business Studies into an A*?
Your child's free 60-minute Business Studies diagnostic includes a full topic-by-topic gap analysis, a realistic grade prediction and a personalised roadmap to final exams. Worth $60 — free for the first 50 families this intake.