January 2026 Business update
6 January 2026
Read more
Happy New Year and welcome to this first update of 2026!
The featured section at the top of the update is on exam entry codes which you will need for the entry information your Exams Officer will be requesting later this month or early next month.
Our after-school GCSE and A level network events continue this term, and we hope that you will be able to join us.
If you have new or trainee teachers in your department you might bring the EBEA's New Teacher Conference to their attention (details below).
You are also invited to find out about the January Creativity Challenge, which is not just for art students, it is open to all.
| Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 14 January | GCSE Business network event |
| 20 January | A level Business network event |
| 22 January | Results day for IAL October 2025 series |
| 22 January | Results day for International GCSE November 2025 series |
| 23 January | EBEA New Teacher Conference |
| 27 January | IAL (October series) and International GCSE (November series) examiners' reports uploaded |
| 21 February | Entry deadline for International GCSE and AS/A level for UK centres |
| 5 March | Results day for IAL January 2026 series |
| 21 March | Entry deadline for international centres |
Your Exams Officer will soon be asking for the exam entry codes for the summer exams. Please provide your EO with the information well in advance of the deadlines.
| Qualification | Entry code | Entry deadline |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE Business | 1BS0 | 21 February* |
| A level Business | 9BS0 | 21 February* |
* Please note that for international centres, the entry deadline is 21 March.
| IAL Business | Entry code | Entry deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | WBS11 | 21 March |
| Unit 2 | WBS12 | 21 March |
| Unit 3 | WBS13 | 21 March |
| Unit 4 | WBS14 | 21 March |
| IAS cash-in | XBS11 | 21 March |
| IAL cash-in | YBS11 | 21 March |
4BS1A = the traditionally assessed linear papers
R - Regional papers - Pearson requires the following countries to use the alternative R option codes: Australia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
C = Onscreen assessment
CR = Regional and onscreen papers
The entry deadlines are:
- 21 February for UK centres
- 21 March for International centres
| Entry | Option | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 4BS1 | A | Business (Papers 1 & 2) |
| 4BS1 | R | Business (Papers 1R & 2R) |
| 4BS1 | ZA | Business (Papers 1C & 2C) |
| 4BS1 | ZB | Business (Papers 1C & 2) |
| 4BS1 | ZC | Business (Papers 1 & 2C) |
| 4BS1 | ZD | Business (Papers 1CR & 2CR) |
| 4BS1 | ZE | Business (Papers 1CR & 2R) |
| 4BS1 | ZF | Business (Papers 1R & 2CR) |
| GCSE Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Delivery support focuses on free support materials, networking and both free and paid-for resources. There are links to Pearson, Hodder and other publishers.
| International GCSE Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Assessment support focuses on assessment news and tools, support in understanding the command verbs, and information about grade boundaries and statistics.
GCSE Business
After each event, a zipped file is uploaded to the qualification page. The zipped file includes the materials used in the event and a link to the recording.
| GCSE Business | |
|---|---|
| 14 January 16.00-17.00 | Support with Theme 1 Topics |
| 11 February 16.00-17.00 | Support with Theme 2 Topics |
| 11 March 16.00-17.00 | Tackling 2- and 3-Mark Questions |
| 22 April 16.00-17.00 | Tackling 6-Mark Questions |
The GCSE Business You Tube Channel includes recordings of events from previous years.
There are two Facebook groups, one for each qualification. They are private groups and applicants are checked to confirm that they have an Edexcel Online account.
The GCSE group has over 3,000 members. The International GCSE group is much smaller.
There is also a Pearson Edexcel Facebook page designed to help and support you with the teaching and delivery of our UK qualifications. You can find the latest news, updates and information about our support services across subjects. From our own news to updates from Ofqual and JCQ, follow us on @PearsonEdexcel on Facebook to stay up to date.
GCSE Business Summer 2026 timetable
International GCSE Business Summer 2026 timetable
International GCSE Business November 2026 provisional timetable
| A level Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Delivery support focuses on free support materials, networking and both free and paid-for resources. There are links to Pearson, Hodder and other publishers.
| IAL Business |
|---|
| Delivery support |
| Assessment support |
Assessment support focuses on assessment news and tools, support in understanding the command verbs, and information about grade boundaries and statistics.
Please note that the event which is now on 9 December was originally scheduled for 3 December.
| A Level Business | |
|---|---|
| 20 January 16.30-17.30 | Support with Theme 1 and 2 Topics |
| 25 February 16.00-17.00 | Support with Theme 3 and 4 Topics |
| 18 March 16.00-17.00 | Understanding the 'Assess' Command Word |
| 29 April 16.00-17.00 | Understanding the 'Evaluate' Command Word |
A level Business
After each event, a zipped file is uploaded to the qualification page. The zipped file includes the materials used in the event and a link to the recording.
The A level Business You Tube Channel includes recordings of events from previous years.
The mark schemes for GCE Business have been refreshed to include updated diagrams. These improvements ensure greater consistency across papers, support clearer interpretation, and help teachers and students engage more confidently with the assessment criteria.
Our thanks go to Learnogic Education for providing the diagrams, and Senior Examiner Maaz Khan for adapting them to meet question requirements. These contributions have improved the overall clarity and quality of our mark schemes.
The pre-release material for the June 2026 Paper 3 is now available.
Four new case studies have been added recently and we now have fifty five case studies mapped to the specification.
| Number | Title | Specification references | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | Apple | 1.2.3 Markets 1.2.4 Price elasticity of demand 1.1.2 Market research 1.3.3 Pricing strategies |
|
| 53 | On the beach | 2.2.1 Sales forecasting 2.2.2 Sales, revenue and costs 2.5.3 The competitive environment 3.1.2 SWOT analysis |
|
| 54 | Strava | 1.2.1 Demand 2.1.2 External finance 2.5.3 The competitive environment 3.2.3 Organic growth |
|
| 55 | IKEA | 4.1.4 Protectionism 4.2.3 Assessment of a country as a production location 4.3.3 Cultural/social factors |
There are two Facebook groups, one for each qualification. They are private groups and applicants are checked to confirm that they have an Edexcel Online account.
The A level group has over 2,000 members. The IAL group is much smaller.
There is also a Pearson Edexcel Facebook page designed to help and support you with the teaching and delivery of our UK qualifications. You can find the latest news, updates and information about our support services across subjects. From our own news to updates from Ofqual and JCQ, follow us on @PearsonEdexcel on Facebook to stay up to date.
An A level Business teacher has created aTikTok account for his students which he has shared here.
A level Business: Summer 2026 Timetable
IAL Business January 2026 timetable
IAL Business Summer 2026 Timetable
IAL Business October 2026 Timetable
IAL Business January 2027 provisional timetable
Please note that this is a provisional timetable. Any feedback on provisional timetables should be sent to timetables@pearson.com.
The latest EBEA New Teacher Conference 2026 will be taking place online at 9.30am on Friday 23rd January. Free to all members, including trainee teachers studying with an EBEA Training Partner institution, this year's speakers include:
- Helen Coupland-Smith (Time2Resources) discussing the secrets of developing and using resources effectively.
- Adrian Lyons (Ex-Ofsted HMI and Business and Economics Lead) will be sharing insights into Ofsted expectations and the new framework.
- Deborah Malpas from OCR will be providing guidance on incorporating sustainability into the specifications.
- Dr Jo Bentham (EBEA Trustee) will be discussing how to raise student expectations and attainment.
- Headteacher Daniel Biggins will be providing much needed guidance on maintaining wellbeing as a business and economics teacher.
- Gareth Taylor (EBEA Head of Professional Development) on advancing your career through Senior Fellowship.
Now that the final report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review and the timelines have been published, we are now considering the implications for GCSE and A level Business. We will keep you informed of any further developments.
See the timeline (on page 52)
Join the final January Challenge!
Pearson is proud to partner with 64 Million Artists for the last-ever January Challenge – a free programme of daily creative prompts throughout January. Perfect for classrooms, staff rooms, and whole-school activities.
This year the theme is ‘Courageous Change’ with each of the prompts designed to help us get a new perspective, build our courage and helpus collaborate so that we can be more prepared for this ever changing world.
At Pearson, we've helped create the schools resource pack again this year and two prompts were written by your Subject Advisors!
To get involved, you can:
- Sign up to receive daily creative prompts in January
- Download the schools pack
- Use the schools pack to help your school get creative and make change
Last year 360,000 people took part and we’re hoping to make the last one the biggest and best. There’s no better time to make change than now, so sign up and take part, and we’ll see you there!
We are recruiting examiners for our Business qualifications and would invite you to join one of our examining teams.
Are you internationally based?
We are currently looking to expand our Examining workforce ahead of our assessment activities. We are seeking applicants to mark our GCSE, GCE, International GCSE and International A Level qualifications in Business
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education has published a new report.
The report highlights persistent gaps in provision across the UK that need further attention and calls for a Financial Education Youth Guarantee; including financial education at every stage of learning; Financial Education Champions in every school; and a national financial education resource hub.
The report also highlights examples of positive practice and recent developments that could be scaled up, as well as specific recommendations to improve financial education.
You can access the full report, and executive summary, on the APPG’s webpage:
This is a recorded session which focuses on best practice when using ResultsPlus, alongside ExamWizard to analyse your students’ examination results, and improve your in-house approach to teaching the topics your students find challenging.
The Professional Development Academy summarises the training that is available to you.
Multi factor authentication was rolled out to nearly a quarter of a million Pearson Portal users last year. Although it has now become a standard way of accessing our systems, it can sometimes present challenges if a smart device is lost or replaced.
You can read more information, see a quick start guide and access FAQs and troubleshooting for our authenticator app in our Pearson Portal Authenticator support article.
Based on feedback received this graphic was created to answer some common questions.
You can read more information, see a quick start guide and access FAQs and troubleshooting for our authenticator app in our Pearson Portal Authenticator support article.
Subject advisor
Colin Leith
Business
Email :
Phone :
+44 (0) 344 463 2535
(Teaching Services team | Mon-Fri, 9am - 5pm GMT)
