Debbie Malpas, Subject Advisor for Business and Economics

In this blog, I’ll answer key questions about the redevelopment of our A Level specification, explain how and why our content and assessment models are changing, and give an overview of some of the improvements we’re planning.

Our new A Level Business specification has now been accredited by the regulator, Ofqual, and is ready for first teaching in September 2026.

To discover more about our redeveloped A Level in Business and the support available, and to view our draft specifications and sample assessment materials, please visit our dedicated webpage.

Why have we made changes?

We want to reflect modern practices in all our qualifications. Our A Level Business hadn’t been redeveloped since 2015 and, following a recent comprehensive review of this qualification, we identified there was a need to create a new, contemporary qualification that empowers students to develop as commercially minded, enterprising individuals, prepared to make informed decisions about their future and succeed in today’s dynamic, changing world.

How did we do it?

We began the redevelopment in summer 2022, starting with a detailed external review of our specification and analysis of previous teacher feedback. We wanted to ensure that our process was rigorous and thoughtful, so we worked closely with a range of key stakeholders.

This included consulting with teachers, heads of department and subject leads, principal examiners, HE lecturers and representatives from business and education. 

We researched all content and terminology used in the specification to ensure it was valid and relevant to business now and is likely to remain relevant in the coming years. We also listened closely to feedback on how users want to engage with specifications, so we could produce content which is logically organised and sufficiently detailed for use by both students and teachers. 

We investigated a range of different assessment models and gained stakeholder feedback on their suitability. We have carefully considered what content should be assessed on which paper and reviewed command words, question styles and mark tariffs to ensure our assessment materials are inclusive and accessible to all. You can read more about accessibility in our assessments in our recent blog. 

We recognise and are committed to aligning our qualifications with Cambridge OCR’s people and planet principles, especially in terms of climate change and Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB). With this as a focus, we have scrutinised our content based on our commitment to improving EDIB and increasing environmental awareness in our business qualifications.

Throughout our journey to date, we have analysed all the feedback from teachers and other stakeholders. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to get involved.

What is changing?

We’ve made some changes to our content. While 60% of the content in our new specification will still focus on meeting the mandatory Department for Education’s core knowledge, understanding and skills, the remaining 40% of additional content includes topics that are engaging and relevant to young people such as recruitment, training and development and sustainability. 

Some of the improvements include:

• Simplified specification. Our new specifications is shorter and structured clearly into topics. It’s easier to navigate, better mirrors our GCSE specification, and is useful for planning, in particular for those who co-teach.
• Greater focus on modern business. We’re keeping our most popular topics while introducing new, contemporary content around sustainability, work-life balance and the customer experience.
• More accessible assessment, including
  • more multiple choice questions
  • a formulae booklet available for use during the exams 
  • changes to question tariffs, with a highest tariff of 14 marks
  •  clearer exam language with refined command words 
  • shorter case studies embedded within the exam papers 
  • repeated paper structure across exams to reduce cognitive load 
  • each paper focuses on different content with synoptic assessment only in the final paper.

We believe that these changes will help create a positive business experience for all students.

What support will there be for planning and delivering A Level Business?

You told us you needed resources to get started with us, and more teaching materials to aid your delivery. Together with our publisher partners and online providers, we’re confident you’ll have all the support you need.

To help you navigate the new specifications, we will also create and share:

• detailed assessment guides and annotated sample assessment material
• a curriculum planner and schemes of work to support with planning and delivery
• free teacher guides and teaching resources to support delivery
• learning resources from third parties and publishers
• Active Results: our free results analysis service to help you review the performance of individual students or whole school
• ExamBuilder: our free question-building platform that helps you to build your own tests as our bank of past live-series questions grow.

As these resources become available, they will be added to our dedicated secure teacher website, Teach Cambridge. Please ask your exams officer if you need access. 

As well as this, we’re offering all schools and colleges teaching the new qualification access to a free site licence for a digital student book from Cambridge. This licence will allow any member of your school or college who needs access to the relevant A Level Business book – whether for teaching or learning – to do so free of charge. Learn more about the book, which is due to be published in summer 2026. 

Please note that this book is an optional support resource. There is no requirement to use it when delivering the qualification. You can also purchase print versions of the student book, if required. 

Plus, our business subject advisors are ready to help you along your journey, offering a range of preparation and delivery support services. We’ll share updates, resources and blogs with hints and tips. We’ll also invite you to training opportunities and a range of professional development courses throughout the year, from getting started with us to exploring our exams and assessment materials. Make sure you sign up to receive subject updates to stay in the loop! 

You can also register for one of our Introducing our new A Level Business webinars taking place in spring 2026. Each free, online session will introduce our qualification, provide an overview of the support available – including the free site licence opportunity – and give you a chance to ask questions.

In summary

I hope this blog has helped inform you about the new A Level Business. We hope the changes to the specification and assessment materials, which have come about as a direct result of the valuable feedback we receive from teachers and stakeholders, will increase the enjoyment and love of learning that your business students deserve.

Stay connected

As first teach approaches, we’re here to help, whether you’re new to us or transitioning from our previous qualification. Make sure you’re signed up for our to subject updates to stay up to date with the latest news, updates, and resources. If you have any questions, you can email us at support@org.uk or call us on 01223 553998. 

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use our online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information. This will ensure you receive all the support and information you need before you start teaching, including information about how to access your free site licence for Cambridge’s digital student book.

About the author

Debbie joined OCR in August 2014. She worked on the redevelopment of our GCSE Business (J204) and the Cambridge National in Enterprise and Marketing. She also supports teachers through the development of a variety of resources, the CPD programme and subject communications.

Before joining OCR, Debbie spent over 20 years in teaching and leadership roles. She worked in secondary schools, a sixth form college and international school in Shropshire and Cambridge. Debbie holds a degree in Business Operations and a PGCE in Secondary Economics and Business from the University of Warwick. In her spare time, Debbie likes to visit family in the Midlands and also writes for Cambridge University Press.