Nicola Heath, Psychology Subject Advisor

In this blog, we’re excited to share details of our newly accredited A Level Psychology (H569), which is now ready for teaching from September 2027. Every change we’ve made is based on extensive teacher feedback and input from external stakeholders. By listening and responding to your suggestions, we’ve ensured that the updates deliver real benefits to both the content and assessment of the qualification. 

Throughout the redevelopment process, we’ve valued every piece of insight from teachers. Your feedback not only influenced our decision to redevelop the qualification but also shaped many of its new features. Thank you to everyone who contributed through surveys, focus groups and one-to-one meetings – your time and effort have been invaluable. 

We also consulted higher education specialists from a range of institutions, as well as members of The British Psychological Society and The Association for Teachers of Psychology. Their input has helped us create a qualification that we’re confident is high quality and fully supports both teachers and students. 

Below, I’ve highlighted five key changes you wanted to be addressed by this refresh, and how we have responded to them to improve the qualification.

1.  We’ve reduced the volume of content

We know teachers had been finding it hard to fit teaching the volume of content required into the time available, while students were finding revision ahead of exams difficult too. We’ve listened to this feedback, and we have:

• reduced the number of core studies on Component 02 from 20 to 15 (3 per area) 
• reduced the number of key studies in Component 03 from 15 to 11. 

We know these changes will make a big difference for teachers and students, giving you more time to spend where it matters most. 

You can see which studies have been removed by looking at our latest version of the specification.

2.  We’ve reduced the number of statistical tests to just one

We also heard that calculating five statistical tests was challenging for some students, especially those with lower prior attainment in maths. As well as this, some teachers, particularly non-specialists, were finding it tricky to teach out of their comfort zone. 

In our new qualification we have:

• reduced the calculation of statistical tests in Component 01 to just one: Chi-square 
• updated our specification guidance to include what we are expecting from a statement of significance. 

Students should still be able to select the appropriate test from five options. However, they’ll only need to do calculations for one. We know this will be a welcome change for many teachers and students. 

We’ve spoken to different Higher Education Psychology course leaders who have confirmed that calculating statistical tests by hand is not necessary for undergraduate study. However, an understanding of what statistical significance means, as well as a good grasp of descriptive statistics, is beneficial.

3.  We’ve improved the contemporary nature of the qualification

One theme that came up time and again in our research, both from teachers and HE specailists, is that some A Level Psychology content could be updated to have a more modern focus and be evaluated in terms of its current relevance. 

So another way we’ve enhanced the qualification is to make our content, including our studies, more contemporary. 

Our specification has been updated to focus more on up-to-date topics such as AI. This includes adding the following modern studies:

• Fulmer et al. (2018) Using psychological artificial intelligence (Tess) to relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety 
• Wunderlich et al. (2021) How does spectator presence affect football? 
• Elsadek et al. (2020) Window view and relaxation: Viewing green space from a high-rise estate improves urban dwellers’ wellbeing. 

We’ll also be using more recent examples of research, articles and topics in the scenarios and stimuli in our exam papers. You can view our sample assessment materials to see how we’ll be including these contemporary research examples and modern topics. 

As well as this, we’ve made our Criminal Psychology topic mandatory in Component 03 to reflect its popularity – over 98% of students were completing this option.

3.  We’ve improved the accessibility and consistency of our assessments

We were also told teachers wanted to see more consistency and accessibility in A Level Psychology papers – in the types of question asked, the number of marks allocated, as well as the time management. Not only does consistency mean less time spent on learning exam techniques, it can also help boost students’ confidence ahead of exam day; while we cannot have predictable questions, we can provide a familiar exam experience for students with a ‘no surprises’ approach. 

We listened! Our new A Level offers straightforward assessment that is fair, consistent and will enable every student to get the results they deserve. All our papers: 

• are 2 hours, with a maximum of 80 marks – this provides more time per mark for our students.
• are consistent in their structure, using familiar question types 
• contain just a few high-tariff questions 
• apply a clear set of 15 command words consistently, so students understand what’s being asked 
• build in accessibility throughout. For example, we provide clear signposting to students of key parts of the question and indicate where responses require two ideas by having the numbers 1 and 2 in the answer lines. 

In Component 03, students will choose from Child Psychology, Environment Psychology or Sport and Exercise Psychology. In each of these, we’ve reduced the ‘options’ to just three topics, which will be assessed on multiple in a given year

5. We’ve developed a comprehensive package of support

We know how important it is to have reliable, clear and classroom-ready resources to support your delivery of any qualification. 

Our new A Level Psychology comes with a comprehensive support package that will make a real difference to your teaching, and your students’ learning. This includes: 

• Direct access to me, your named subject advisor, when you need support about the specification, the assessment process or the exam format 
• Practical planning tools, including curriculum planners and schemes of work for every component and option 
• Assessment resources to build confidence, such as candidate exemplars and practice papers 

And to make things as easy as possible for you, all of this will be available to you in one place: our secure online platform, Teach Cambridge.

Next steps

Want to find out more about our new A Level Psychology, and how it could empower you and your students to achieve the best possible results? Visit our landing page or qualification page to download and view the latest specification, SAMs, mapping and switching guides. 

You can also get in touch with me if you have any questions: psychology@ocr.org.uk 

Stay connected

If you have any questions, you can email us at psychology@ocr.org.uk or call us on 01223 553998. 

You can also sign up to subject updates to get the latest inforamtion on resources and professional development.

If you are considering teaching our new A Level Psychology, please do let us know using our online form , so that we can make sure you get all the support you need.

About the author

Nicola joined Cambridge OCR in 2022 as the Subject Advisor for Psychology. Before that, she taught psychology for over 10 years and has had various other responsibilities in that time, including being Head of Year and Subject Leader for PSHE. Nicola has a personal interest in mental health and wellbeing and enjoys reading, baking and spending time outdoors to relax.