The Business School

Overview

The Business School is a live classroom simulation in which student teams run competing firms in one shared market. It suits business teachers who want a lesson built around connected decisions and discussion, rather than individual, self-paced practice. Its classroom controls and curriculum-linked questions are a strong fit for a planned group exercise; the full Autumn 2026 pilot cohort makes immediate adoption difficult.

Key features

Teams decide how to handle prices, hiring, loans, VAT, crises and deals, with the effects of those choices visible in the simulation. This gives teachers material for showing how business decisions interact, though the format is specifically organised around teams competing in a common market. A session takes 6 to 32 students, divided among as many as eight firms of three or four; it is not sized for a larger class in one run.

Teachers can pause or resume phases, trigger a crisis, review firm activity and project a live leaderboard. These controls let an instructor shape the exercise as the lesson unfolds, rather than simply setting it running. Students can download private reports, and the teacher receives a curriculum-mapped class report by email within 48 hours. Knowledge Check questions are written for 23 business courses, spanning AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, WJEC, Cambridge, BTEC and IB, so the classroom activity has a route back to several curricula.

Students join through a browser with a six-digit PIN and a team label or first name, without needing student accounts or email addresses. The company says session data is held in an EU database in Frankfurt, is not sold or used for advertising, and can be ended by the teacher at any time. TBS Education Ltd Oy states that it is registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office as ZC133810. Its about page says a person familiar with the material answers support requests within 24 hours.

Pricing

The free Teacher demo costs nothing and requires no credit card. It is a six-step demo with no PIN and no licence, so it is useful for previewing the flow but is not a free classroom deployment.

The School licence has custom pricing: one annual fee, quoted after the pilot, covers unlimited sessions and classes for a school, with up to 32 students per session. The per-school rather than per-seat structure may suit schools that expect repeated use, but the quote-based price prevents straightforward budget comparison before contacting the provider. The MAT licence is also custom pricing, quoted after the pilot, with one agreement across trust schools and a single point of contact.

A free trial is offered, but the site says the Autumn 2026 pilot cohort is full at 30 of 30 schools and a waitlist is open. Schools seeking to start now should account for that availability constraint, as well as the post-pilot quote terms.

Platforms

The service runs on the web, and students join in a browser. Class data can be downloaded as CSV; no third-party product integrations are named. Browser access keeps the stated classroom setup simple, but schools looking for a named connection to another platform should not assume one.

Who it's for

The Business School is best suited to teachers delivering business courses to a class of 6–32 students who can set aside a lesson for a shared team simulation. Its curriculum questions, instructor controls and follow-up reports make it a considered choice for guided classroom teaching. It is a weaker fit for solo learners, classes above the session limit, or schools that need immediate access while the pilot cohort is full.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The connected firm decisions make business trade-offs visible in a shared activity, while teacher controls support active lesson management.
• Pros: Questions cover 23 named business courses, and the teacher receives a curriculum-mapped class report within 48 hours.
• Pros: PIN-based browser entry avoids requiring student accounts or email addresses.
• Cons: Sessions top out at 32 students, so larger classes would need another arrangement.
• Cons: The demo has no PIN or licence, and paid school and trust licences are quote-based after the pilot.
• Cons: The Autumn 2026 pilot is full, with access dependent on the waitlist.

Alternatives

For a broader category comparison, browse Business Simulation Software.

Choose Forio instead if a freemium option with API, self-hosted and web platforms is more relevant; its free Epicenter Personal plan allows unlimited public and private projects but has no end-user authentication or authenticated projects.

AnyLogic is another freemium option, with a free plan and web, Windows, macOS and Linux platforms.

Consider Cesim Business Simulations if you want a paid web-based alternative with a free trial.

Marketplace Simulations offers a different format through its Individual Microsimulation: $8, paid once, billed $8 per student, with 10–25 minute exercises students can replay.

FlexSim is a paid alternative available on Windows and web.

GoVenture is a freemium alternative with a free trial and Linux, macOS, web and Windows platforms.

Capsim Business Simulations is a paid web-based alternative.

CompanyGame is another paid web-based alternative.

Verdict

Choose The Business School if you teach a business class within its 6–32 student range and want a teacher-led simulation tied to course questions, reports and visible team decisions. The main reason to look elsewhere is practical: the current pilot cohort is full, and licence pricing is quoted only after the pilot.