A-Level Exam Dates 2026: Complete Timeline and Revision Schedule

It is mid to late April. Your A-Level exams start in May. If you are searching for exact dates right now, you are not alone - this is the moment most students look up exactly when their exams begin and how much time they actually have left.

The short answer: most A-Level exams begin in the second week of May 2026, with papers running through to late June. But the exact date for your specific subjects and exam board matters, and that is what this guide covers.

When Do A-Level Exams Start in 2026?

A-Level examinations for the summer 2026 series run from Monday 11 May 2026, with most final papers completing by Friday 26 June 2026. The precise schedule depends on your exam board and subjects.

Each exam board publishes its own timetable, and while there is broad coordination to avoid major clashes, students with multiple subjects need to check their personal timetable carefully.

Exam boards publish their full timetables on their official websites. If you do not already have your personal exam timetable from your school or college, request it this week - you need exact dates to build a revision plan that actually works.

A-Level Business Studies Exam Dates 2026

For students taking A-Level Business Studies, the exam dates vary by board.

Edexcel A-Level Business (9BS0) runs across three papers. Paper 1 and Paper 2 typically fall in late May, with Paper 3 in mid-June. The exact dates are published on the Pearson/Edexcel examination timetable.

AQA A-Level Business (7132) also runs three papers, with Papers 1 and 2 in May and Paper 3 (the synoptic case study paper, for which pre-release material is available in advance) typically in late May or early June.

The most important thing for Business Studies students: note when your first paper falls and work backwards. If your first paper is 11 May, you have fewer than three weeks from today. If your first paper is late May, you have a few weeks more.

Your Personal Revision Countdown

Once you know your first exam date, build your revision backwards from it rather than forwards from today. This is a more honest accounting of the time you actually have.

If your first exam is 11 May, you have approximately 19 days from today (22 April). That is roughly three weeks.

Three weeks is a realistic revision window if you use it actively. Here is how to structure it.

Week 1 (now through 29 April): Content coverage. Work through the specification topic by topic. Do not aim to memorise everything - aim to locate your gaps. Mark each topic as confident, partial, or weak. By the end of this week you should have a clear picture of where your revision effort needs to go.

Week 2 (30 April through 7 May): Active recall. Stop reading and start testing yourself. For each topic, close your notes and write down everything you can recall. Check what you missed. Practise past paper questions - not to revise the content, but to practise writing under exam conditions.

Week 3 (8 May through exam): Targeted review. Revisit only your weakest areas. Complete at least two full papers under timed conditions. Review the mark schemes carefully, noting the exact language examiners reward.

Exam Schedule by Subject

The subjects below are those ClearConcept covers. Exact dates depend on your exam board and are confirmed by your school. This list gives approximate timing.

Business Studies: First papers typically mid-to-late May. Three papers across approximately five weeks.

Psychology: First papers typically mid-May. Three papers (AQA) covering social influence, memory, attachment, and options topics.

Economics: First papers typically mid-May. Three papers across approximately four to five weeks.

Sociology: First papers typically mid-May. Three papers across approximately five weeks.

Biology, Chemistry, and other sciences: First papers typically mid-May, with practicals counted separately.

Geography and History: First papers typically mid-May, with coursework/NEAs already submitted.

The Gap Between First and Last Exam

Most students have a gap of two to four weeks between their first and final exam. This period is often used poorly - either students over-celebrate after their first exam, or they try to revise everything again from scratch.

The most effective use of this gap is focused continuation. After each exam, do a brief debrief: what did you find harder than expected, and does that suggest a gap worth closing before a later exam? Then move on. You cannot change a paper you have sat.

If you have subjects with very different first-paper dates, prioritise your earliest exam in the final two weeks before it arrives. Do not let a later exam date lead you to deprioritise a subject you need to revise now.

Exam Day: What to Check in Advance

Before exam season starts, confirm the following for each of your papers: the date and time, the location (most students sit in their school or college, but some papers are sat at external centres), what you are required to bring (pen, pencil, calculator if permitted, student ID), and whether any pre-release material is required (AQA Business Paper 3, for instance, has a pre-released case study).

Arriving flustered wastes mental energy you need for the exam itself. Knowing the logistics in advance removes one source of exam-day stress.

Making the Most of the Time You Have

The most important thing you can do today is this: find out your actual exam dates, write them down, and build a three or four week plan backwards from your first paper.

Students who revise without a clear deadline often revise the wrong things for too long, then run out of time on what actually matters. Students who know their dates - and plan to them - tend to use their remaining time more honestly.

ClearConcept's revision tools are built around the specification, so time you spend on the platform is time spent on exactly what your exam covers.

Further Reading

• How to Revise A-Level Business Studies: The Complete Guide
• Last-Minute A-Level Revision: The 2-Week Sprint Strategy
• ClearConcept pricing