Four reasons to choose our new A Level Business
28 January 2026
Debbie Malpas, Subject Advisor for Business and Economics
We’re thrilled that our brand-new A Level Business has now been accredited and is ready for teaching from September 2026. Designed with teachers and students in mind, the qualification offers a contemporary, accessible approach to business, designed to empower all students to become commercially minded and enterprising individuals.
In this blog, I’ll explain more about the new qualification and outline five reasons why you should consider it as part of your curriculum – from modern content to straightforward assessments and a comprehensive support package, including free access to an A Level Business digital student book for everyone in your school or college who needs it.
Our assessments are accessible and straightforward
We know how important it is for students to feel confident on exam day and believe that all students deserve the chance to succeed. Our assessments are designed to be clear, consistent and accessible, so those sitting them can focus solely on showing us their knowledge and skills.
Our new assessment approach includes:
- multiple choice questions on every paper (10 questions in Section A)
- a formulae booklet for use during exams, meaning less time spent memorising equations
- a consistent paper structure across all three exams, helping to reduce students’ cognitive load
- just a few question types, used consistently across all papers, including low tariff questions
- accessible mark tariffs, with the highest-mark question worth 14 marks
- short case studies that reflect real-life business contexts.
We’ve also kept synoptic questions to a minimum. Each paper will cover different content, while encouraging a holistic view of business. However, Paper 3 will give students the opportunity to bring ideas together from across the specification.
Plus, we’ve developed clear and detailed mark schemes, with candidate exemplars.
All of this is to make sure that you and your students can better prepare for assessments and know what is expected of them on the day.
Our specification is concise and provides clarity
We’ve built this qualification with the needs of teachers, as well as students, in mind. Whether you’re new to teaching the subject or looking to streamline your planning, it’s designed to save you time and provide clarity. Our new specification is concise and easy to navigate, with no hidden content and structured into topics in order to support co-teaching and flexible delivery. We’ve also:
- added a column that offers clear guidance on the depth of understanding that students require for each topic
- included a small, defined list of command words with explanations on their usage in assessments.
We’ve designed our new A Level specification to mirror the style, structure, and layout of our GCSE, creating a clear and natural progression between the two. This consistency makes the A Level familiar and intuitive for teachers delivering both, streamlining planning and teaching so you can focus on supporting your students.
Our qualification covers topics that are relevant to students today
Business is all around us, and our new A Level reflects that. Our content includes brand-new contemporary topics like work-life balance and customer experience, alongside refreshed favourites such as sustainability and the use of technology in business.
There’s also less emphasis on abstract theories and more focus on the practical application of business skills, helping students to develop knowledge and a skillset that will be invaluable for their future – whether they’re looking to go onto further study or enter the world of work.
Read more about how our new A Level reflects the real world in our recent blog.
We offer a support package you can rely on – including free access to a digital student book
From your lesson planning to getting ready for assessments, we’ve got you covered. We’ve developed a tailored support package that has been designed to help make teaching easier – whether you’re a subject specialist or not.
All Cambridge OCR A Level Business students will receive a free digital student book written to support the qualification (accessed via a school site licence). Publishing from Cambridge in summer 2026, the book is mapped to our redeveloped specification and offers comprehensive coverage of the content, along with activities, tools, and opportunities for exam preparation.
As well as advice and guidance from me, your subject advisor, you’ll be able to choose from a range of professional development courses, from getting started with us to exploring our exams and assessment materials. While over on Teach Cambridge, our one-stop teaching hub, you’ll be able to find teaching resources – such as curriculum planners, schemes of work for every component and teacher guides – and assessment resources, including candidate style answers/candidate exemplification and practice papers.
Plus, after the first live series, you’ll also be able to access a number of free services to help you understand your students’ performance and improve future learning:
Learn more
Keen to find out more about our new qualification? Visit our dedicated page, where you can download the specification, explore our sample assessment materials, and learn about our support package, including the digital student book.
If you are considering teaching our new qualification, don’t forget to use our online form to let us know. This will make sure 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.
Stay connected
If you have any questions about our new qualification, you can email us at support@org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X @BusEcon.
You can also sign up for our subject updates to keep up to date with the latest news, updates, and resources.
About the author
Debbie joined Cambridge 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.