Financial Studies Certificate/Diploma Level 3

A minimum of 4 subjects at grade 5 or above at GCSE plus English Language at grade 4 or above. You should also have grade 4 in GCSE Maths.

Year One - The Certificate

The units studied encourage you to become a responsible borrower and sensible saver and to appreciate the need for financial planning throughout your life.

Units include:

• Unit 1 - Financial capability for the immediate and short term
• Unit 2 - Financial capability for the medium and long term

Key content areas:

• Importance of financial capability in the immediate, short, medium and long term
• Financial services and products, including sources of help and advice
• Borrowing, budgeting, financial planning and cash flow forecasting
• The impact of external influences at different stages in the personal life cycle
• Risk and reward in managing personal finance

Year Two - The Diploma

Year Two provides an in-depth exploration of the important concepts of financial capability and how to apply them in achieving longer-term financial stability. The Diploma (DipFS) builds on the skills and knowledge students gained when completing the Certificate in Financial Studies (CeFS). It extends these to include areas such as sustainability in the wider financial services system, and the long-term effect of debt.

Units include:

• Unit 3 - Financial capability for the immediate and short term
• Unit 4 - Financial capability for the medium and long term

Key content areas:

• Importance of financial capability in the immediate, short, medium and long term
• The impact of external influences at different stages in the personal life cycle
• Risk and reward in managing personal finance
• Personal and external factors that lead to change
• Maintaining financial sustainability and avoiding long-term debt
• The financial services system and financial sustainability (individual and general)
• Marketing techniques

This qualification will develop key skills encouraging students to:

• Analyse financial information, financial services products and services and begin to make judgements about suitability for people in different circumstances
• Develop an understanding of financial concepts and terminology to enhance financial literacy
• Analyse, synthesise, evaluate and reflect
• Demonstrate numeracy skills, including the ability to manipulate financial and other numerical data to reflect the conceptual activity of financial maths
• Select appropriate data and information to make arguments
• Structure and communicate ideas logically and coherently; and increase their ability to work and learn independently

You will typically be in College four days per week. Your studies will be mainly classroom based but you will also experience some experiential learning. You will have a combination of 30% online learning and 70% face-to-face on site, with 90% classroom based and 10% undertaking independent or simulated experiential learning or practical activities. Our methods of delivery will include to large groups of students online, accompanied by workshops, tutorials, some independent studies, problem solving and work-based learning, developing strong independent learning skills to equip you for your next steps.

Each unit is assessed through a combination of multiple choice questions (Part A) and a written paper (Part B).

Unit 1 and Unit 2

Part A: 35 multiple choice questions in a 45 minute examination. Part B: pre-release case study requiring essay responses in a 105 minute examination. Part B will also assess spelling, punctuation and grammar through the essay responses.

Unit 3 and Unit 4

Part A: 35 multiple choice questions in a 1 hour examination. Part B: pre-release case study requiring essay responses in a 2 hour examination. Part B will also assess spelling, punctuation and grammar through the essay responses.

Financial Studies goes well with Accounting, Business and Economics.

The financially related content of the DipFS serves as a strong grounding for undergraduate study within finance and business related disciplines. Many students go on to study accounting, business, finance and banking, including higher-level courses and apprenticeships at York College.