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The OCR Certificate in Business Language Competence (CBLC)
Organisational issues
This course is being used in in some schools Year 9 as an accreditation for students who may not be continuing with languages in Key Stage 4. As the course is externally assessed, the administrative burden on the teacher is less than some other courses and time can be spent on fully preparing the students for the external assessments.
The course is also being used as an alternative accreditation in KS4 and KS5 for students of all abilities. It is important to select the appropriate level of entry for the students. Some schools and colleges are using the CBLC as an ab initio course for those beginning a new language in KS4 or KS5.
Training for teachers
It is advisable for teachers, particularly those new to the course, to attend training so that they are fully aware of the requirements of the CBLC. OCR offers training and details of courses can be found on their vocationally-related qualifications web pages.
The Language Networks for Excellence is an OCR Regional Centre for CBLC and offers a range of services and advice and guidance in relation to many aspects of the qualification, including training and teaching resources. The regional centre operates throughout the West Midlands but also advises nationally. They have facilitated CBLC examinations for over 3000 learners in the last academic year and provide 11% of the entries nationally for the CBLC. They offer a pay-as-you-go scheme and only charge for those students who sit examinations, not a minimum number of entries.
OCR holds a list of regional centres (pdf 28.1 KB) which can support schools wishing to introduce the course.
Arranging external examiner visits
External examiner visits can be arranged at any time when the candidates are ready, although for cost reasons, it is advisable to wait until as many candidates as possible can be tested at the same time. At least 4 weeks' notice is required for the visit of an external examiner to be organised.
If working through a regional centre, it may be that they will organise the examiner visit for you. Networks for Excellence will do this for schools and colleges in their region. Download their Policies and procedures document for schools and examiners (doc 304 KB).
