A level Economics: Exam Structure by Board

Your Teacher Information Pack for A level Economics: how it is assessed for each board, key dates for summer 2027, and links to specifications, past papers and grade boundaries.

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Qualification: A level (linear, two years)
Years: Year 12 and Year 13
Ages: 16–18
Boards covered: AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, WJEC Eduqas
Entries 2026 (England): 46,365 (no. 5 A level by entries)
Last checked: 2026-10-20

Entries: Ofqual provisional entries, summer 2026 (rounded to the nearest 5).

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Exam structure by board

Pick your board to see every paper with its length, marks and weighting, plus practicals, booklets and links.

AQA A-level Economics (7136)

First taught 2015

Paper	Time	Marks	Weight
Paper 1: Markets and market failure	2 h	80	33.3%
Paper 2: National and international economy	2 h	80	33.3%
Paper 3: Economic principles and issues	2 h	80	33.3%

Full AQA pack · specification on the AQA website

Pearson Edexcel A level Economics A (9EC0)

First taught 2015 · first exams 2017

Paper	Time	Marks	Weight
Paper 1: Markets and business behaviour	2 h	100	35%
Paper 2: The national and global economy	2 h	100	35%
Paper 3: Microeconomics and macroeconomics	2 h	100	30%

Full Pearson Edexcel pack · specification on the Pearson Edexcel website

Pearson Edexcel A level Economics B (9EB0)

First taught 2015 · first exams 2017

Paper	Time	Marks	Weight
Paper 1: Markets and how they work	2 h	100	35%
Paper 2: Competing in the global economy	2 h	100	35%
Paper 3: The economic environment and business	2 h	100	30%

Full Pearson Edexcel pack · specification on the Pearson Edexcel website

OCR A Level Economics (H460)

First taught 2019 · first exams 2021

Paper	Time	Marks	Weight
Component 01: Microeconomics	2 h	80	33.3%
Component 02: Macroeconomics	2 h	80	33.3%
Component 03: Themes in economics	2 h	80	33.3%

Full OCR pack · specification on the OCR website

WJEC Eduqas A level Economics (A520QS)

First taught 2015 · first exams 2017

Paper	Time	Marks	Weight
Component 1: Economic Principles	1 h 30 min	60	30%
Component 2: Exploring Economic Behaviour	2 h 30 min	80	30%
Component 3: Evaluating Economic Models and Policies	2 h 30 min	90	40%

Full WJEC Eduqas pack · specification on the WJEC Eduqas website

Key dates

Summer 2027 exam series

First exam (GCSE and A level): Mon, 10 May 2027
Contingency day: Wed, 23 June 2027
Special consideration deadline: Wed, 30 June 2027

A levels are linear: all exams are sat at the end of the two-year course. Source: JCQ key dates June 2027. Check each board's final timetable for paper dates and results day.

Official documents

More packs

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Exam facts (paper names, times, marks, weightings, codes) are taken from each awarding body's own specification and summarised in our own words; no specification text, papers, mark schemes or booklets are reproduced. Exam details checked against the board's specification on 2026-10-20. Always check the current specification on the board's website.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Ofqual and DfE pages on GOV.UK). Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education, Ofqual, JCQ, AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or WJEC Eduqas.

Questions teachers ask

How many exam papers are there in A level Economics?

AQA 7136: 3 exam papers; Pearson Edexcel 9EC0: 3 exam papers; Pearson Edexcel 9EB0: 3 exam papers; OCR H460: 3 exam papers; WJEC Eduqas A520QS: 3 exam papers. Check the specification for options.