A Free-to-Try Edexcel A-Level Business Simulation, Map to Theme 1 & 2 in 60 Minutes

If you teach Edexcel A-Level Business and want a lesson where Theme 1 and Theme 2 turn into decisions, here is one option: a live simulation your Sixth Formers play in firms of three or four, joined with a PIN and a first name, nothing to install. The class runs rival car dealerships for one lesson, and the Knowledge Check questions inside the game are written for 9BS0.

This post is a practical walkthrough. You'll find what students actually do, the 9BS0 topics it touches, a 60-minute lesson plan and reflection questions designed to draw the theory out of the game.

Why a simulation, and why this one

The Edexcel A-Level Business specification is built around decision-making language, "evaluate the impact of…", "analyse the likely effect on…", "to what extent…". Students can memorise the terminology. What they can't easily memorise is what it feels like to set a price too high and watch sales fall, or to run out of cash with a warehouse full of stock.

That is where simulations can help. A well-designed one asks students to make decisions under time pressure, shows the consequences in the same lesson, and gives them something concrete to refer back to in the exam.

In The Business School's live game, UK Motor Trade, the class runs rival car dealerships. The game splits the class into firms of three or four and gives every student a role: CEO, Sales & Marketing, Operations or Finance. In a three-person firm the CEO also runs Finance. Every firm starts with £100,000. Students buy cars from the wholesaler, set prices, sell to customers, trade with other firms, file VAT with HMRC, take loans, hire staff and bid for fleet contracts. You run the lesson from one teacher screen, and can project its live chart of every firm's net position.

Edexcel 9BS0 mapping, where the lesson meets the specification

Here's the honest version. One lesson won't cover the whole specification, nothing will. These are the 9BS0 topics that the lesson's decisions and Knowledge Check questions meet, and your class analysis shows the topic of each question. A recorded decision shows that a student took it, not that they understood the topic, so treat it as a prompt for questioning, not a mark.

The full list, including what is not measured, is on the Curriculum page, with the 9BS0 specification as the source. If you're on AQA 7132, choose it when you create the session: the Knowledge Check questions are written for that specification, and the class analysis shows each question's topic in it. The table above is Pearson only.

The 60-minute lesson plan

This assumes a class of up to 32 and a projector. Every student needs a laptop, desktop or Chromebook: each one works in their own role screen, so the game does not run on phones.

0-5 min · Join and form firms

Project the teacher screen and share the PIN. Students join in their browser with a first name or nickname. When the whole class is in the lobby, open firm setup: the game makes firms of three or four. Ask the class: "If I gave your firm £100,000 and a car showroom, what would you do first?"

A small tip: wait until everyone is in the lobby before you start. Students cannot join once the game has started.

5-8 min · Setup and objective

Firms get up to three minutes to sit together and settle into their roles. Round 1 starts for everyone when all firms are ready or the time ends. Explain the goal: the firm with the highest net position wins. Net position is cash plus stock plus investments, minus loans and unpaid VAT. Ask: "Why net position and not sales?" This opens the profit vs. turnover distinction, which shows up in examiner mark schemes.

8-53 min · Three rounds of 15 minutes

When you create the session you choose 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes per round; 15 fits a one-hour period.

• Round 1: buying and selling. Each student's Do now card shows the next useful step in their role.
• Round 2, Scale up: staff and sabotage open, and a fleet tender opens halfway through the round.
• Round 3: you can start a crisis from your screen, for example a supplier price increase. A second fleet tender opens halfway through.
• Knowledge Check: ten questions inside the game in rounds 2 and 3. Answers go into each student's report and do not change the firm's cash.
• Use Pause to stop the clock and discuss what just happened.

53-60 min · Results, reports and reflection

The final standings show each firm's net position. Each student can then download a private report of their own recorded decisions, question results and any written answer, and a certificate of completion that records participation only. You receive the class analysis by email within 48 hours. The game checks only the Knowledge Check answers, and assessment stays with you.

This is the most important part of the lesson. Pick three of the following and run them as whole-class discussion:

1. "Which firm changed strategy mid-game? What triggered it? Link this to strategic drift (Theme 3)."
2. "The winning firm, was it because of a good decision, or because a competitor's decision was poor? How would you tell which in a real business?"
3. "When the round 3 crisis hit, which firm was most exposed, and why? What would you have done differently in round 2?"
4. "Which firm had the strongest cash position mid-game but didn't finish top? What does that tell us about cash vs. profit?"
5. "If we ran this ten times, would the same firm always win? What does that tell us about the role of luck vs. strategy in real business?"

Suggested homework: one paragraph, "Using the simulation and one relevant theorist, explain why our firm [won / lost / stayed mid-table]." It pairs well with a short exam-style question on the same topic.

What actually works, and what doesn't

What works

• Everyone in the lobby first. Start only when the whole class has joined.
• One pause per round. A short pause to connect a decision to theory is worth more than extra playing time.
• Running it twice. On the second play-through, students approach decisions more strategically. Comparing the two sessions makes for a strong reflective task.

What doesn't

• Long intros. Keep the talk before round 1 under five minutes. The Do now cards explain the next step to each student.
• Marking the simulation itself. Don't. Mark the written reflection instead, otherwise weaker pupils feel punished for losing.
• Running it as cover. It needs you at the teacher screen to start the session, pause the clock and start the crisis.

For teachers, what you need to prep

Honestly, very little. The whole thing is browser-based. You need:

• A projector or large screen.
• A laptop, desktop or Chromebook for every student.
• Your teacher login, to create the session and get the PIN.
• The reflection questions printed or on the board.

If your school filters web access, ask IT to allow thebusiness.school and play.thebusiness.school. That's usually it.

Questions teachers always ask

What is new this term

Since this post was first written, the game has become UK Motor Trade: firms with four roles, staff to hire, six marketing campaigns, sabotage with a Legal Counsel defence, fleet tenders and a teacher-started crisis in round 3. Feedback from UK pilot schools shapes what comes next. If there is something specific you would like to see, let us know.

Summary

Simulations are not a substitute for teaching, they work best as a complement. Students who already know the Edexcel definitions benefit from a session where those definitions turn into decisions. The Business School is designed to sit inside a single classroom period, driven by the teacher, rather than being an app students log into from home.

If you're planning a Theme 1 or Theme 2 lesson, the Teacher Demo is a good place to start.