AS and A Level Media Studies NEA

This guidance relates to AS and A Level Media Studies (H009, H409).

The AS and A Level Media non-exam assessment (NEA) briefs are published in the Assessment > Pre-release materials section of the qualification page: 

• A Level – published on 1 March for submission the following year 
• AS Level – published on 1 September in the year of submission 

All NEA work must be completed and marks submitted by 15 May of the year of submission. Once you have submitted your marks to OCR, you will receive a moderation sample request. For each candidate in the sample request you need to submit: 

• Cover sheet – A Level and AS Level 
• Teacher assessed media production
• Non-assessed research notes and planning materials 
• Statement of intent – A Level and AS Level

Each candidate should sign a declaration to confirm the work is their own. Teachers must complete a centre authentication form (CCS160). These forms should be kept in your centre until the end of the post-results period. 

Entry Options

There are two entry options for submitting work to the moderator:

• Digital submission via the OCR Repository – H009/02 (AS) and H409/03 (A Level)
• Postal moderation – H009/03 (AS) and H409/04 (A Level) 

If you have entered for the Repository, you should not send any materials by post. Files uploaded to the Repository should be clearly organised and labelled identifying the candidate number and content of the file (eg 1234_coversheet). Documents uploaded to the Repository work best in PDF format. 

You can view further details about the OCR Repository on our website.

If you have entered for postal moderation, you can send work digitally on a password-protected USB stick or in physical format for print work. Please label the work clearly so that the moderator can identify which candidate it belongs to.

Use of online platforms

Online platforms can be used to submit work for both the Repository and postal moderation options. Online platforms, including blogs, allow candidates to include their research and planning materials as well as their final products.

Where work is submitted via online platforms it is best practice to send a link to a password-protected online centre blog hub containing links to each individual candidate portfolio. Alternatively, a PDF file containing working hyperlinks to individual candidate blogs can be submitted.

When submitting work via online blogs, centres should:

• use candidate number, rather than name, to identify the blogs
• make sure the submission for each candidate contains the statement of intent, research and planning, Product 1 and a link to the website production
• include coversheets and a document with the links needed to access candidate work – this can be uploaded to the Repository or sent postally as a PDF, depending on the entry option chosen.

Sharing work

Candidates and centres must not share NEA work with others or share work via social media. Centres must make sure that work submitted for the NEA is not publicly accessible. This is in line with JCQ requirements. Any blogs or videos uploaded to online platforms must be unlisted and links to online materials must not be shared publicly.

Accessing work after submission

Centres must make sure candidates cannot access work once the marks have been submitted to OCR.

Centres can do this by submitting audio or video products as MP3 or MP4 files, or by using a hosted online platform controlled by your centre which candidates cannot log in to (for example a dedicated YouTube channel for the centre). For candidate websites, centres can take possession of the website by changing the password so candidates can no longer access it. Alternatively, your candidates can submit screenshots of the final web pages to the teacher. These screenshots should not be submitted to the moderator, but should be retained by the centre until the end of the post-results period.

File Formats

Any work submitted as digital files must be in universal file formats. We recommend work is submitted in the following formats:

• PDF
• MP3
• MP4
• Embedded in online blog

Retaining candidate work

Candidate work, including any work submitted via online platforms, should be kept by the centre and remain available until after the deadline for reviews of moderation or until any appeal, malpractice, or other results enquiry is complete.

Candidates must work individually to produce responses to the briefs. Group productions are not permitted, although other people can assist the candidate as long as they follow the candidate's instructions and their contribution is indicated on the cover sheet. Examples of this include people acting or appearing in the media product or people operating lights.

Although not assessed, research and planning must be submitted for moderation as it supports the authentication of work and helps moderators identify a candidate's aims. It underpins effective production practices, and we recommend candidates complete sufficient research and planning to allow them to have a clear understanding of the conventions of similar professional media products.

A statement of intent must be completed by every candidate to communicate their production ideas. This should be completed before candidates begin their production, although it can be edited later to reflect changes in the production process. If a statement of intent is not submitted there is a limit to the number of marks they can achieve, as follows: 

• A Level – Ten marks will be deducted from a candidate’s final mark 
• AS Level – The candidate’s maximum mark is limited to the top of Level 4 of the marking criteria. 

All content (including all images, text, video and audio) submitted as part of the NEA production must be original and created by the candidate themselves. The exceptions to this are the use of music in audio/audio-visual production briefs and in the original audio/audio-visual content required for the website production, and the use of existing brand logos. Where candidates have used any other found materials these must not be considered for credit. 

You can view more details in the AS and A Level Media specifications.

Candidates are required to produce the homepage and one linked page for their website only. If candidates have created more than the two required pages, only the homepage and one linked page should be assessed. It must be indicated on the NEA coversheet which linked page has been assessed.

The use of templates provided by online platforms such as Wix.com is permissible. Where templates have been used this should be indicated on the NEA coversheet. Candidates should be encouraged to avoid being overly reliant on templates and make their own choices in the use of media language. Candidates must be responsible for the design of the website by editing the template to suit their branding, and all content (such as text, images and audio-visual material) should be original.

The NEA briefs require the websites to include original audio or audio-visual content. This content should be in addition to audio/audio-visual content produced for Product 1.

When securing online production work for submission, centres should take care to make sure logins provided to moderators give them read-only access.

If you have any questions about the NEA for AS and A Level Media Studies, please call our Customer Support Centre on 01223 553998 or email us at media@ocr.org.uk.