This engaging, real-world business consultant challenge is the perfect end-of-unit or end-of-year activity for GCSE Business Studies pupils. Suitable for both CCEA and OCR exam boards, this resource brings together key business concepts in a meaningful, applied context — asking pupils to step into the shoes of a business consultant competing for a client contract.

Pupils are given a detailed case study about Northern Star Electronics Ltd., a Belfast-based electronics manufacturer facing a range of motivational and operational challenges. Working in teams, they must analyse the business issues, research what competitors are doing, and pitch their recommendations to the client — all within a £150,000 budget.
The task requires pupils to produce a structured report, a professional PowerPoint presentation, and a short team journal, mirroring real workplace skills while firmly grounding the work in GCSE Business Studies theory.

Why it’s the perfect end of term challenge:
This activity is ideal once pupils have completed their Year 11 content because it consolidates everything they have learned across the year in one rich, collaborative task. Rather than passive revision, pupils actively apply concepts such as motivation theory, employee retention, quality control, and business communication to a realistic scenario. The competitive pitch format raises engagement and gives the activity a sense of purpose and urgency. The team structure also means pupils with different strengths — research, design, leadership — all have a meaningful role to play. It requires minimal teacher input once launched, making it ideal for the busy end-of-term period, while still producing high-quality assessed work.

What’s included:

Full pupil-facing case study (PDF)
Report writing skeleton to scaffold weaker pupils
Example completed report
Example PowerPoint presentation
Teacher notes on delivery