School Business Leadership (Top-Up) BA (Hons)

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Course Summary

The School Business Leadership (Top-Up) degree is designed to take holders of an HND, Foundation Degree or equivalent in the business area to a new level. Combining essential knowledge with academic skills development will give you the best chance of success at honours degree level and within the graduate employment market.

This course is designed specifically to support the transition between your HND, Foundation Degree or equivalent studies to a final year honours level. You will receive extensive academic skills development and have access to specialist tutor support to give you the best opportunity to gain a great result for your degree award.

Chester School of Education has an excellent reputation for teaching and learning. This course is specifically designed for individuals who want to work in a business-related function within education. The course is taught by both academics and practitioners, ensuring you receive a good balance of theory and application.

Why You'll Love it

Learn from experienced school business professionals

Close collaboration with the professional body

Group of students walking down the stairs at Queen's Park

Real-world assessments

A tutor and student chatting at table with notebook open.

What You'll Study

Leading Governance (20 credits)
You will learn about the role that governors and trustees have in supporting and challenging senior staff of the function and performance of the school.
Strategic Finance in Education (20 credits)
Ensuring that schools are solvent remain one of the key priorities for schools. Understanding the differing ways in which schools are funded are key to ensuring their long-term success.
Managing organisational practice (20 credits)
School Business Managers need to be able to manage multi-disciplinary teams in an increasing complex organisational structure. This module focuses on effective organisational leadership.
Research Methods (20 credits)
Learn how to conduct effective research within an education setting.
Dissertation (40 credits)
Explore an applied topic of your own interest related to school business leadership. This module allows you to apply your skills to make a positive impact on practice.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

This course is designed around in-person study and assesed via a range of assesments such as written assignment, practical tasks and presentations.

You will receive approximately 20 hours of teaching per 20-credit module. In addition, you are expected to spend at least 180 hours studying independently outside of taught lessons for each 20-credit module.

On occasions, you may be required to participate in online lessons or activities. However, this course is taught face-to-face at the University’s Exton Park campus.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core - building your subject competence, confidence, and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

Entry Requirements

104UCAS Points

UCAS Tariff	104 points
GCE A Level	Typical offer – CCC-BCC
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
International Baccalaureate	26 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers - H3 H3 H3 H4 H4 Scottish Highers - BBBB
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 must be at Merit or above
T Level	T Level with a Pass grade and C or above in the core
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: DMM
Extra Information	Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. Please note that GCSE grade C/4 or above in English (or equivalent) is required. GCSE grades C/4 or above in Maths and Science are desirable. All successful candidates who receive an offer of a place for this course and choose the University of Chester as their Firm choice will be required to undergo checks with regards to their suitability to practice. A couple of months prior to admission to this course, the University will contact you to request that you complete a self-declaration form detailing any relevant convictions or other information that you believe may have an impact upon your ability to undertake work with children or vulnerable adults. You will also receive instructions on how to complete an online application for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check through the University as a registered body, there will be a charge for this. Please note that the University does not accept previous DBS checks from other registered bodies or the update service. For details about the cost of the DBS and for further information please visit our DBS web pages.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

Fees and Funding

£9,535per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2025/26 are £9,535 a year, or £1,590 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

You can find more information about undergraduate fees on our Fees and Finance pages.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

£14,450*per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2025/26 are £14,450 per year for a full-time course. This fee is set for each year of study.

The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee. You will automatically be considered for these scholarships when your application is reviewed, and any award given will be stated on your offer letter.

For courses with a Foundation Year, the tuition fees for Year 1 are £10,750 and £14,200 for Years 2-4 in 2025/26.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

Students often elect to purchase a laptop, where students choose to do so, the cost it likely to be around £800-£1000.

Most software specific to your course is available free to students through agreements we have with the software vendors.

Occasional, optional, field trips may be offered, depending on student demand, these are typically within the UK and where chargeable the cost is likely to be under £100. Students are not required to participate in order to successfully complete the course.

Who You’ll Learn From

Dr Steve Lambert

Associate Professor

Dr Mark Whalley

Senior Lecturer

Where You'll Study Exton Park, Chester

The location

Modern learning resources and library

Seaborne library, seating and reception area.

Fitness facilities

A male student wearing goggles is swimming in the training pool between the red rope lane marker lines.

Student Services

Chapel, chaplaincy and multi-faith spaces

Accommodation

Catering

Your Future Career

Job prospects

Those successfully completing the course will be able to seek employment as a school business manager (or similar role) within school setting.

Progression options

Students can progress onto the Educational Leadership MA.

Careers service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.