AQA A Level Business (7132) Past Papers 2026
Download free AQA A Level Business 7132 past papers, mark schemes. 8 exam sessions from 2017–2026.
June 2024
Latest Session
8
Sessions
2017–2026
35
Question Papers
32
Mark Schemes
91% coverage
14
Inserts
6
Specimen Papers
Components & time pressure
Marks per minute shows how fast you have to work — the higher the number, the tighter the time pressure in that paper.
| Paper | Component | Marks | Duration | Marks / min | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 7132/1 — Business 1 | 100 | — | — | — |
| Paper 2 | 7132/2 — Business 2 (Data Response) | 100 | — | — | — |
| Paper 3 | 7132/3 — Business 3 (Case Study) | 100 | — | — | — |
Component structure extracted from 6 official AQA documents (2022–2023). Timings and mark totals are taken from the papers themselves.
Yearly Exam Sessions
Topical Past Papers
AQA Business questions organised by specification topic — perfect for targeted revision.
How is AQA A Level Business (7132) examined?
AQA A Level Business is examined through 3 paper components. Understanding each component helps you allocate revision time effectively.
Paper 1
100 marks7132/1 — Business 1
Paper 2
100 marks7132/2 — Business 2 (Data Response)
Paper 3
100 marks7132/3 — Business 3 (Case Study)
What AQA examiners say about Business
Verbatim quotes from 6 official AQA examiner reports (2022–2023). Every quote is attributable to a specific paper and session — these are the things AQA markers flag year after year.
Underdeveloped analysis
Many students identified accurate points, evidenced with context, but then did not develop their ideas, preventing them progressing to higher mark bands.
Drifting onto a different question
Students often failed to reach the top levels, not because of a lack of knowledge, but because they failed to focus on the key issues of the question — sales revenue, is now a good time, competitiveness etc.
Weak or absent evaluation
Many students struggled to create an effective evaluation within their responses with often rushed, underdeveloped ideas or a lack of focus on the question. There was often a lack of balance.
Most Common Mistakes — Business (7132)
Based on analysis of 6 official AQA examiner reports (2022, 2023). Avoid these errors to maximise your marks.
Underdeveloped analysis — making lots of points at the same shallow level instead of building one chain in depth
Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3 · Flagged as the headline weakness in the 7132/2 June 2023 overview and reinforced across every other 7132 paper analysed
Drifting onto a different question — ignoring the precise wording of the focus given
Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3 · Repeatedly flagged across Papers 2 and 3 in both 2022 and 2023
Weak or absent evaluation — summary instead of weighed judgement
Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3 · Headlined in the AO4 commentary of 7132/3 June 2023 and 7132/2 June 2023
Calculation errors — missing units, wrong formula, or final-step failures
Paper 1, Paper 2 · Every Paper 1 and Paper 2 ER comments on 7132 calculation slips
Knowledge gaps on gateway models — wrong or incomplete theory blocks the whole answer
Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3 · Flagged across every 7132 paper, especially Paper 2 June 2023
Topics Students Struggle With Most
Exchange rates and their impact on importers and exporters
'This area of the specification has been poorly answered by students in previous series.' On 7132/2 June 2022 Q3.4 the most common error was getting the SPICED mechanism backwards and applying exchange-rate effects to a business that didn't actually import or export.
Paper 1, Paper 2
Gearing, ROCE and capital-employed calculations
On 7132/2 June 2023 Q1.2 'the majority could provide a formula, but it was evident that some did not know the formula for ROCE which prevented progress.' Many candidates also failed to link gearing to capital employed correctly.
Paper 2, Paper 3
Contingency planning vs operational and strategic planning
On 7132/2 June 2022 Q3.5 'it was fairly common to see that students' responses had holding extra buffer stock as a contingency plan — this is an operational decision rather than a contingency plan.' Confusion with strategic planning was also flagged.
Paper 1, Paper 2
Organic growth (vs inorganic / vs environmentally-friendly)
On 7132/3 June 2023 'organic growth was the most misunderstood piece of business knowledge on the paper, with a notable minority believing that this meant environmentally-friendly growth.' Students also struggled to explain WHY organic growth is less risky.
Paper 3
Capital intensive vs labour intensive production
On 7132/2 June 2023 'not knowing key terms like Capital Intensive... made it difficult for some students to respond to these questions with creditworthy responses.' On 7132/1 June 2022 Q21 weaker responses were assertive rather than reasoned about labour vs capital intensity.
Paper 1, Paper 2
Price elasticity and income elasticity of demand
On 7132/1 June 2023 Q19 'there was evidence of uncertainty relating to the terms elastic and inelastic and even where students provided logical conclusions, their arguments showed confusion between these two terms.' On 7132/2 June 2022 a 'common misconception was that a product with price inelastic demand will see no change in demand when price rises'.
Paper 1, Paper 2
Stakeholder mapping and stakeholder vs shareholder distinction
On 7132/2 June 2023 Q3.2 'stakeholder mapping was not understood in its entirety by some who struggled to make a relevant point.' On 7132/3 June 2022 Q5 'a small, but notable minority of students thought that stakeholders meant shareholders.'
Paper 2, Paper 3
Joint ventures vs mergers vs takeovers vs venture capital
On 7132/2 June 2022 Q2.4 'the concept of (joint) ventures was not well understood by a significant number of students. It was common for students to assume it was the same as a merger, but another misunderstanding was to answer the question relating to venture capital.'
Paper 2, Paper 3
AQA A Level Business (7132) — Full Archive 2017–2026
This page contains all 112 AQA A Level Business (7132) past papers available for free download — 8 exam sessions from 2017 to 2026. Each session includes question papers (QP), mark schemes (MS), and where available, insert materials (INS). No registration or payment required.
AQA A Level Business is graded A*–E. The A* grade requires achieving an A on the overall qualification and 90%+ on the A2 units. AQA is the UK's largest exam board, making these past papers the single most relevant resource for your revision.
AQA A Level Business has no tiers — all students sit the same papers. Papers are split into components (Paper 1, Paper 2, etc.), each testing different areas of the specification. Focus on components where you score lowest to maximise grade improvement.
AQA mark schemes use a clear notation: M marks are for method (your working), A marks are for accuracy (correct answer), and B marks are awarded independently. Understanding this system helps you maximise marks even when you don't reach the final answer — showing clear working can earn method marks. After attempting each Business past paper under timed conditions, mark it against the official scheme and categorise every dropped mark as a knowledge gap, method error, or misread question. Target your remaining revision at the category where you lose the most marks.
Business 7132 at other levels
Questions, answered.
PapersDaddy provides 112 free AQA A Level Business (7132) past papers from 2017–2026. Download question papers and mark schemes as PDF — no registration needed.
We have 112 papers across 8 exam sessions for AQA A Level Business (7132). This includes question papers and mark schemes, plus 6 specimen papers.
AQA filenames follow the pattern AQA-[CODE]-[TYPE]-[SESSION]. For example, AQA-71311H-QP-JUN19 means: specification 7131, Paper 1, Higher tier, Question Paper, June 2019. QP = Question Paper, W-MS = Mark Scheme, INS = Insert, SQP = Specimen Question Paper.