Reaction to 2026 Leaving Certificate Business (Higher Level) by Keith Hannigan, Business teacher at The Institute of Education.
- A tough paper that deviates from the norm, particularly in the compulsory ABQ
- A much more specific and technical approach to Units 1 to 5
The Business exam starts with an array of short questions and, after last year, many will have expected some real challenges. Thankfully this was a pleasant overture to the exam with most of the question drawing from Units 1 to 5, which are generally preferred by students. Questions on Communications, European Union, and Marketing will have fallen neatly within their comfort zone and so most will be able to find a combination of 8 questions that fit them nicely.
Any surety will have been shaken as they turn to the Applied Business Question (ABQ). This is a compulsory question, so they had no way to avoid it and thus any shocks become amplified. In an unprecedented move, topics questioned last year were repeated. Human Resources Management (HRM) and Control are topics that students will not have been expected in this context. Furthermore Question (B) on price discrimination has never appeared in the ABQ or with such specificity on the paper. For a required section that has followed a usual pattern over the years, to see so many changes converge will have left weaker students off balance.
Those hoping to regain their footing heading into the final stretch of the exam will have found Section 3 Part 1 tough. Questions 2 and 3 were nice and standard but draw from Units of the course that students don’t naturally prioritize. For the questions that most students gravitate towards the questions were starkly specific. The questions on contracts explicitly rule out the mention of “offer and acceptance” while also demanding knowledge of “condition” and “warranty”. If a teacher had specifically flagged these elements for students, then they would be well-prepared but many weaker students will likely have left blanks on the page. On-the-spot adaptability was essential to questions on industrial relations and the relationship between stakeholders as students will have had to draw together various aspects to yield a full answer. Yet Q4 also demanded a top tier knowledge of niche technical minutiae as some students simply won’t recognise “constructive dismissal” in A (ii).
Thankfully, the Enterprise section of the paper was more accessible. Question 5 was nice and standard while Question 6 saw HRM’s second appearance of the day, this time in a more familiar setting. Question 8’s benefits of branding was nice and clear, so students will be happy with that. Those who had planned to attempt Question 7 might struggle with ratios making up 2/3 of the available marks.
This is the final paper for this version of the course and many will have hoped that this finale would in keeping with its predecessors. However, the breaking of patterns and specific demands will leave many students feeling really challenged.