We answer some of the most frequently asked questions about our plans to redevelop our A Level Psychology.

Why are you refreshing your specification?

To ensure our qualification continues to meet students' needs, we conducted a detailed review of our existing A Level. This involved gathering and analysing feedback from stakeholders, including teachers, examiners and representatives from the Association for the Teaching of Psychology and the British Psychological Society.

Our findings showed that, while our qualification is well regarded, there is a need to refresh aspects of it. This will help make sure it stays relevant to today plus will alleviate some of the pressures students and teachers currently face.

When can I start teaching the new specification?

We have now submitted our draft A Level specification and sample assessment materials to Ofqual, the regulator, for their review. The planned first teach date is September 2027, with first assessments in 2029 (subject to accreditation).

We will keep you informed throughout the process – sign up for our email updates to stay in the loop.  

What are the planned changes?

Subject to Ofqual accreditation, we aim to: 

  • improve the contemporary nature of the qualification. This includes introducing new studies, such as on racial bias and artificial intelligence, evaluating studies in a more contemporary way and using recent examples of research, articles and topics in our exam papers
  • reduce the number of core and key studies to help manageability
  • reduce the statistical calculations to just one test: chi-square
  • update and extend our mental health topic
  • include criminal psychology as a compulsory option.

Additionally, we plan to revise our assessment approach to ensure it’s more accessible. This includes:

  • reducing the mark allocation, while retaining the two-hour time limit of exams to support students’ time management
  • a maximum mark tariff of 12
  • making our command terms and mark schemes more consistent.

Teacher and stakeholder feedback has informed and shaped every planned change. You can read more about this process and our proposals in our blog by Subject Advisor Nicola.  

You can also visit our webpages and download our mapping guide, which outlines the how the new A Level qualification is different to our existing one. 

What could the assessment model look like?

We are looking to improve the consistency and accessibility of our assessments while maintaining their familiar feel.

Subject to accreditation, our current proposals for A Level include: 

  • keeping three, two-hour long exams but reducing the number of marks available to 80 per paper to help with time management
  • reducing the number of command terms used and using them consistently across all papers
  • ensuring consistency in marking, with similar question types marked comparably across components
  • applying updated accessibility principles, including clear signposting in questions to ensure they can be better understood by students.

Will there be a textbook?

We are planning to update our existing textbook to reflect the changes we are making. 

What support can I expect?

Whether you're new to us or have been teaching with us for a while, we’ll offer a range of free support and resources to help you deliver our qualification with confidence.

Our comprehensive package will include:

  • sample assessment materials and guides to help you navigate our exams
  • curriculum planners
  • comprehensive schemes of work for each component
  • professional development courses
  • assessment guides
  • candidate exemplars
  • practice papers
  • an expert subject advisor to advise you, share updates and resources
  • new teaching and learning resources from third parties. This includes short film clips mapped to new specification from the Educational Recording Agency (ERA)
  • Active Results – our free results analysis service
  • Access to Scripts – our free, on-demand service that allows you to download copies of students’ completed question papers
  • ExamBuilder – our free question-building platform that helps you to build your own tests as our bank of past live-series questions grows.

You will be able to find these resources on our secure platform, Teach Cambridge. If you already have a Teach Cambridge account, you will be able to log straight in. If you do not currently have access to the platform, please visit our website for guidance on how to gain it. You will also be able to sign up for a two-week free trial. 

I don’t teach your A Level Psychology now, but I am interested in moving to the new specification. How do I switch?

If you are from an approved Cambridge OCR school or college and teaching other qualifications with us, you can simply download our new A Level specification once accredited.

To help us support you, let us know if you're planning to teach by filling in this form.  

If your school or college doesn’t offer any Cambridge OCR qualifications currently, you may need to register with us. Please get in touch with our Customer Development Team, who can guide you through the process.  

Please feel free to contact us on 01223 553998 or email us if you have any questions.  

 

I’m teaching your existing A Level Psychology. What do I need to do?

For now, all you need to do is explore our draft resources and make sure you are signed up for our email updates to receive the latest news about our developments. 

Once we are accredited, we will let you know by email. You can then download our specification and start teaching our new A Level.  To help us support you, let us know if you're planning to teach with us by filling in this form.  

You can contact us on 01223 553998 or by email if you have any questions.