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Higher

Higher Business Management

From session 2026/27 the Higher Business Management exam is 70 marks over 2 hours 15 minutes. It used to be 90 marks. The 2027 exam is on Thursday 13 May, 9am to 11:15am.

2027 examThursday 13 May 2027
  • Question paper09:00 to 11:15
Question paper70 marks, 2 hours 15 minutesSection 1: one 30-mark case study question. Section 2: five 8-mark questions. Worth 78% of the course.
Assignment (business report)20 marks, Notional 8 hoursMarked out of 30 and scaled to 20, which is 22% of the course. Up to 2,000 words plus four pages of appendices.

What grade is my mark?

out of 120
?

Type a total mark to see the grade it would have got.

How the A and C boundaries have moved

40%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%202220232024202520262022: 88 of 1202023: 84 of 1202024: 80 of 1202025: 84 of 1202026: 83 of 1202022: 60 of 1202023: 58 of 1202024: 56 of 1202025: 58 of 1202026: 57 of 120AC

Boundaries as a share of the total marks. A lower line means the papers were judged harder that year. Qualifications Scotland publishes boundaries from 2022 in this format.

YearOut ofABCD
202612083705744
202512084715845
202412080685644
202312084715845
202212088746046

What changed for 2026/27

The question paper is shorter. It drops from 90 marks to 70 and from 2 hours 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes.

Section 1 is one case study question worth 30 marks. Section 2 has five questions worth 8 marks each.

The assignment is still marked out of 30. Its mark is now scaled so the paper counts for 78% and the assignment for 22%.

In 2027 the exam is on Thursday 13 May, from 9am to 11:15am.

Course content

There are five areas: understanding business, and the management of marketing, operations, people and finance. Questions mix theory with application to a business context.

The assignment

You write a business report on one topic in one organisation. It should be no longer than 2,000 words, plus up to four A4 pages of appendices. You have a notional 8 hours in class, and can do field research outside class.

The 30 raw marks are split like this:

SectionMarks
Introduction2
Research4
Analysis and interpretation13
Conclusions and recommendations10
Structure1

Analysis and conclusions carry 23 of the 30 marks. A penalty applies if the report runs more than 10% over the word limit.

What the 2025 course report found

The 2025 report covers the old 90-mark paper, but its lessons still apply. Common weak spots in the paper were:

  • describing manager roles without linking them to the case study context
  • mixing up current and non-current assets
  • confusing a cash budget with an income statement
  • outlining objectives when the question asked candidates to explain

Some candidates also misread case study exhibits and reversed increases and decreases.

In the assignment, conclusions were the hardest part. Markers wanted an overall judgement drawn from several findings, not a repeat of earlier points. Overly complex topics made full marks harder to reach. Recommendations that just repeated what the business already did gained little credit.

Using past papers

Older papers had more questions, so do not copy their timing. Use the September 2026 specimen paper to practise the new length.

Past case studies are still excellent practice. Read the marking instructions to see how describe, explain, compare and discuss are each credited.

Revision checklist

Tick topics as you revise. Ticks are saved on this device only.

  • Sit the new specimen paper in 2 hours 15 minutes
  • Practise linking every answer to the case study organisation
  • Learn the difference between describe, explain, compare and discuss
  • Revise current and non-current assets with examples
  • Compare a cash budget with an income statement in a table
  • Read exhibit data twice and check the direction of each change
  • Choose one assignment topic from one organisation with data you can analyse
  • Plan conclusions that bring several findings together into one judgement
  • Make recommendations that are new actions, not current practice
  • Keep the business report under 2,000 words

Quick answers

Has Higher Business Management changed for 2026/27?

Yes. The question paper is now 70 marks and 2 hours 15 minutes. It was 90 marks and 2 hours 45 minutes. The paper counts for 78% and the assignment for 22%.

How long is the Higher Business Management assignment?

No longer than 2,000 words, excluding appendices. You can add up to four A4 pages of appendices.

What is in Section 1 of the Higher Business Management exam?

One case study question worth 30 marks. Section 2 has five questions worth 8 marks each.

When is the Higher Business Management exam in 2027?

Thursday 13 May 2027, from 9am to 11:15am.