Edexcel A-Level Business · Paper 3 guide
Edexcel Business Paper 3 pre-release (2027): how it works and how to prepare
Edexcel A-Level Business Paper 3 (9BS0/03) is set on a context Pearson publishes in the November before the exam. The paper is 2 hours, 100 marks and 30% of the A-level: two 50-mark sections, each with questions worth 8, 10, 12 and 20 marks. You can research the context beforehand, but you cannot take your research into the exam.
Checked against Pearson’s 9BS0 specification and the 2017–2024 Paper 3 question papers and mark schemes — October 2026
Paper 3 at a glance
| Part | What you do | Marks | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section A | Four questions on extracts about the context: worth 8, 10, 12 and 20 marks | 50 | about 60 min |
| Section B | Four more questions on a further set of extracts in the same context: 8, 10, 12 and 20 marks | 50 | about 60 min |
2 hours, 100 marks, 30% of the A-level. Questions can draw on any of the four themes. Suggested times are our split of 120 minutes by marks (about 1.2 minutes a mark, so roughly 24 minutes for each 20-marker), not a Pearson rule.
What the pre-release is (and isn’t)
- It is a short context, not the exam. Pearson names an industry or market the November before. The extracts you answer on in the exam are new, so you cannot learn the answers in advance.
- It is synoptic. Paper 3 can ask about any of the four themes, applied to that context: marketing, people, finance, operations, strategy and global business.
- Your research stays at home. You can’t take notes in. Research is for understanding the industry well enough to use the extracts quickly and judge them in context.
- Every year is a different industry. Past contexts include UK health and fitness clubs (2017), chocolate (2018), live entertainment (2020) and casual dining (2021). Recent papers come with a separate source booklet for the extracts.
How to research the context
Aim for an evidence bank you can recall, not a folder you can’t. Once the context is out, research these, and for each one write a single line on why it matters to a business in that industry:
| Find out | Why it helps on the paper |
|---|---|
| Market size and growth | Lets you judge whether a strategy in an extract is realistic for the market it is in |
| The main firms and their market share | Competition and market power come up in almost every context |
| How firms make money | Costs, prices and margins make the finance and calculation questions faster to read |
| Recent trends and shocks | Technology, consumer tastes, regulation, interest rates: the external factors questions lean on |
| Global angle | Supply chains, exports and multinationals in the industry feed the global business questions |
| Ethics and sustainability | A frequent source of the competing argument that turns a one-sided answer into a judgement |
In the exam, lead with the data in the extracts. Your research helps you see what that data means; it does not replace it.
The 20-marker: where Paper 3 is won
The two 20-mark questions are 40% of the paper. Each asks you to evaluate a decision or an issue in the context, and the jump from Level 3 to Level 4 is almost always the judgement: whether it is weighed against the other side and tied to the business in the extract.
The four levels, in plain words
Worked example: the judgement at two levels
Question: Evaluate whether FitLoop should convert 10 of its gyms to the budget model. [20]
In conclusion, FitLoop should convert the gyms because the budget market is growing and its membership is falling, so it needs to compete on price. However, it could damage its brand. Overall the benefits are greater than the costs, so it should go ahead.
What holds it back: both sides are named, but “benefits are greater” is asserted, not shown. Nothing from the case (the 6%, the £3m, the 10 of 40 sites) decides the judgement.
On balance FitLoop should convert, but only in the towns where a budget rival has already opened. That is where the 6% loss is coming from, so those sites have the most to win back, while converting 10 of 40 limits the risk of confusing the mid-price brand at the other 30. The decision depends most on whether £3m covers the app and the refit without cutting into the cash the remaining gyms need; if not, a trial at two or three sites first is the safer call.
The one change: the judgement now uses the case evidence to say where and under what condition the decision is right. That “it depends on…” tied to the business is what Level 4 rewards.
Levels shown are our own illustrative reading of the ladder above, which is our plain-English summary of Pearson’s level structure, not Pearson’s wording. FitLoop and its figures are invented for practice.
Where Paper 3 marks are lost
- Answering the industry, not the business. Questions are about the firm in the extract. General points about the industry stay in the lower levels.
- Writing out your research. Facts you memorised earn nothing on their own. Use them only to explain what the extract’s data shows.
- Ignoring the numbers. The extracts nearly always contain data. Using it is one of the clearest differences between the top two levels.
- A conclusion that just repeats. On the 20-marker, a summary of both sides is not a judgement. Say what it depends on.
- Over-writing the 8- and 10-markers. Running out of time for the second 20-marker costs more than any short question can win back.
Paper 3 pre-release questions
When is the Edexcel Business 2027 pre-release published?
Pearson publishes the Paper 3 context in the November before the exam, so the 2027 context is due in November 2026. This page will be updated once it is out.
Has the 2027 Paper 3 industry been announced?
Not as of October 2026. Any site naming the 2027 industry before Pearson publishes it is guessing.
Can you take your research into the Paper 3 exam?
No. You can research the context in advance, but you cannot take notes into the exam. The questions are answered from new extracts given on the day.
How many marks is each question on Edexcel Business Paper 3?
Paper 3 has two 50-mark sections, and each section has questions worth 8, 10, 12 and 20 marks, for 100 marks in 2 hours. It is 30% of the A-level.
Can I practise Paper 3 on Markaroo?
Yes. Past Edexcel Business papers, including Paper 3, can be attempted and marked inside the app, with a mark, the reason for it and the one change that moves each answer up. The free plan includes 2 written answers marked free.