We answer some of the most frequently asked questions about our new A Level in 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? When will the first assessments take place?

Our A Level Psychology (H569) has now been accredited by Ofqual for first teach 2027. This means you can start teaching it from September 2027 – all you need to do is download the specification, sample assessment materials, and our resources and get teaching!

You should ensure you delete any draft specifications and sample assessment materials you may have been using for your planning.

First assessments for the new A Level will take place in summer 2029.  

To help us support you, including ensuring you have access to all the resources you need, please let us know if you're planning to teach the qualification by filling in this form.

Note, please continue to teach our previous A Level specification (H567) to students starting their studies in September 2026.

Will there be a new AS Level too?

Due to low demand, we will stop offering an AS Level in Psychology after the June 2027 examination series. A new AS Level Psychology qualification will not be submitted for accreditation.

The final assessment opportunity for the current AS Level Psychology (H167) qualification will be June 2027. There will be no resit opportunity for students taking the AS Level Psychology (H167) qualification after its final assessment opportunity.

I teach your current qualifications – what is changing?

Teacher and stakeholder feedback has informed and shaped every change. You can read more about this process and our changes in our blog by Subject Advisor Nicola or you can download our mapping guide, which outlines how the new A Level is different to our current qualification.

However, in summary, we’ve:

  • improved 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
  • reduced the number of core and key studies to help manageability
  • reduced the statistical calculations to just one test: chi-square
  • updated and extending our mental health topic
  • included criminal psychology as a compulsory option.

Additionally, we've revised 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.
What does the assessment model look like?

We've improved the consistency and accessibility of our assessments, while maintaining their familiar feel. This includes:

  • 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 new textbook?

We are working with our publishing partner on updating the Hachette Illuminate textbook to reflect the changes we are making.

What other 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 includes:

  • 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.

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.

As well as this, you’ll have access to:

  • an expert subject advisor to advise you, share updates and resources
  • a new, endorsed textbook
  • 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.
I don’t teach your A Level Psychology now, but I am interested in moving to the new specification. How do I switch?

If your school or college is teaching other qualifications with us, you can now download our newly accredited A Level specification (H569) and sample assessment materials, and start teaching from September 2027.

However, to help us support you, including ensuring you have access to all the resources you need, please let us know if you're planning to teach the qualification by filling in this form.

Remember to check out our short switching guides. These have been designed to help you compare our A Level to the AQA and Pearson (Edexcel) qualifications, making your move to us even easier.

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 team, who can guide you through the process:

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

All you need to do is download our newly accredited A Level specification (H569) and sample assessment materials and start teaching from September 2027.

It may also be helpful to look at our mapping guide, which highlights what has changed.

Please make sure you delete any draft specifications and sample assessment materials you may have been using for your planning.

To help us support you, including ensuring you have access to all the resources you need, please let us know if you're planning to teach the qualification by filling in this form.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any specific questions: