Four boards, real entry codes -- and Northern Ireland's board has just announced it is withdrawing the subject.
Book a Free ConsultationA-Level German in 2026 is a single qualification examined by three GCE boards -- AQA (7662), Pearson Edexcel (9GN0) and WJEC Eduqas (A820QS) -- plus CCEA's separate Northern Ireland specification, which CCEA announced on 24 August 2026 it will withdraw after a final cohort starting September 2029. OCR stopped offering A-Level German in 2016.
That withdrawal affects Northern Ireland only. A student entered with AQA, Pearson Edexcel or WJEC Eduqas anywhere else is entirely unaffected, and this page sets out exactly where the line falls, board by board, alongside the real entry codes, paper structures and grading history behind each one.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppAQA's own specification names its qualification plainly: "AQA Advanced Level GCE in German", entry code 7662, with an Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) of 601/8729/3, set out in AQA's A-level German (7662) specification, Version 1.2, July 2017. Pearson Edexcel's Level 3 Advanced GCE in German specification gives its own subject code as 9GN0 and its QN as 601/8704/9; the document's own cover page marks it Issue 4, last modified 17 February 2022 according to the file's own properties. WJEC Eduqas's A-level German specification, Version 2, January 2019, gives its entry code as A820QS and its Qualification Accreditation Number as 603/0070/X.
All three of those QANs are independently confirmed on Ofqual's own Register of Regulated Qualifications, searched 8 September 2026 rather than taken solely from the specifications themselves. The register also settles a naming point worth being precise about: "WJEC Eduqas" is not shorthand or a typo for "WJEC" -- the register lists them as two separate qualifications, both awarded by WJEC-CBAC Ltd, with different scopes. A distinct, older WJEC-branded German A-level, not badged "Eduqas", also still appears on the register, restricted to Northern Ireland and international candidates and already being phased out -- which is why this page always writes "WJEC Eduqas" for the current, live specification rather than "WJEC" alone.
OCR is not a current option. Its own subject-update notice, dated 16 May 2016, records "the difficult decision not to continue the redevelopment of GCSEs, AS and A Levels in Modern Foreign Languages (French, German and Spanish)" and confirms it would withdraw from provision "at the conclusion of the final assessment series", naming its A-level German entry code H476 (QN 500/2229/5) with a final assessment series of summer 2017 and a final resit series of summer 2018. Ofqual's own register independently corroborates this: it lists OCR's German A-level as "No longer awarded", with a final certification date of 31 August 2018 -- so two separate primary sources agree, not just OCR's own account of itself.
| Board | Entry code | Ofqual QN | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | 7662 | 601/8729/3 | Current |
| Pearson Edexcel | 9GN0 | 601/8704/9 | Current |
| WJEC Eduqas | A820QS | 603/0070/X | Current |
| CCEA (Northern Ireland only) | -- | 601/8388/3 | Current -- withdrawing from 2029 |
| OCR | H476 | 500/2229/5 | Withdrawn -- final resit summer 2018 |
Sources: AQA, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas specifications; OCR's subject-update notice of 16 May 2016; Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications. Checked 8 September 2026.
One qualification deliberately does not appear in that table: Cambridge International's own "A Level German -- Language and Literature" syllabus. It is a genuine, separately-examined qualification, but it is examined internationally rather than through the UK's GCE system, and a search of Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications for German A-levels -- run on 8 September 2026 across every availability status, not just "current" -- returns no Cambridge International listing at all. A school or family choosing between UK GCE boards is choosing between AQA, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC Eduqas and, in Northern Ireland, CCEA; Cambridge International's syllabus sits outside that choice entirely, on a different regulatory footing.
CCEA -- the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, Northern Ireland's own awarding body -- announced on 24 August 2026 that A-Level German is one of the subjects it will withdraw, in Northern Ireland only: the final cohort will commence their course in September 2029, with the final award offered in summer 2031 and one further resit opportunity available, exactly as CCEA's own announcement states. This does not affect a student entered with AQA, Pearson Edexcel or WJEC Eduqas anywhere else in the UK or internationally -- those three specifications continue unchanged, and CCEA's announcement says nothing about them.
The announcement is dated 24 August 2026, a fortnight before this page was last checked on 8 September 2026, and at the time of research no competitor page comparing A-Level German's exam boards mentioned it. Ofqual's own register still lists CCEA's current German A-level (QN 601/8388/3) as "Available to learners" -- the withdrawal is a phase-out over several years, not an immediate closure, so a Northern Ireland student already partway through the qualification, or beginning it before September 2029, is unaffected by the announcement.
Worth being exact about the distinction the announcement draws: CCEA sets its own separate Northern Ireland specification and QN, distinct from the AQA, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas specifications a Northern Ireland school could also choose to enter students for instead. A Northern Ireland school currently teaching CCEA German has time to plan a move to one of the three continuing boards well before the final 2029 cohort; a school already teaching AQA, Pearson Edexcel or WJEC Eduqas in Northern Ireland has nothing to change at all.
Every board sits its speaking paper at 30% of the qualification, but the other two or three papers are shaped very differently, and the mark totals are not the same either.
| Board | Paper | Duration | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | Paper 1: Listening, reading and writing | 2h 30m | 100 | 50% |
| AQA | Paper 2: Writing | 2h | 80 | 20% |
| AQA | Paper 3: Speaking (incl. individual research project) | 21-23 min | 60 | 30% |
| Edexcel | Paper 1: Listening, reading and translation | 2h | 80 | 40% |
| Edexcel | Paper 2: Written response to works and translation | 2h 40m | 120 | 30% |
| Edexcel | Paper 3: Speaking (incl. independent research task) | 21-23 min | 72 | 30% |
| Eduqas | Component 1: Speaking (incl. research task) | 21-23 min | 60 | 30% |
| Eduqas | Component 2: Listening, reading and translation | 2h 30m | 100 | 50% |
| Eduqas | Component 3: Critical and analytical writing (closed-book) | 2h | 40 | 20% |
Sources: AQA (7662), Pearson Edexcel (9GN0) and WJEC Eduqas (A820QS) specifications. Checked 8 September 2026.
The shared 30% speaking weighting is not a coincidence between the three boards. It traces back to a single reform decision: DfE and Ofqual's own December 2014 decision following consultation on AS and A-level subjects fixed the non-exam assessment weighting for reformed A-level modern foreign languages at 30%, and every board that went on to write a specification for the reformed qualification built a different paper structure around that same fixed figure. AQA and Eduqas both split the remaining marks 50/20 across their other two papers; Edexcel splits it 40/30 instead. All three grade on the standard six-point A*-E scale, with a U for unclassified, as AQA's specification confirms.
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AQA's specification is explicit: "Students must study either one text and one film or two texts from the list below. Abridged versions should not be used." That list runs to 10 prescribed literary texts and 6 prescribed films, including works such as Kafka's Die Verwandlung and Schlink's Der Vorleser, and films such as Good Bye, Lenin! and Das Leben der Anderen -- a two-film combination is never an option. AQA examines the response in closed-book conditions as part of Paper 2, worth 20% of the A-level.
WJEC Eduqas structures the requirement differently but arrives at a similar restriction. Its specification states: "Twelve works are available for study at A level: six literary works and six films. Candidates are required to study two works, one of which must be a literary work." A film-only pairing is not permitted there either. Eduqas examines the response in Component 3, "Critical and analytical response in writing (closed-book)", a two-hour paper worth 40 marks and 20% of the qualification.
Pearson Edexcel examines set-work knowledge as well, inside Paper 2, "Written response to works and translation" -- a 2 hour 40 minute paper worth 120 marks and 30% of the qualification, the largest single paper across the three specifications. Pearson's own list of prescribed texts and films sits in its specification's appendices, separate from AQA's and Eduqas's lists, so a text or film chosen for one board's course cannot be assumed to appear on another's; this page does not invent a text count for Pearson that its own specification does not state as plainly as AQA's and Eduqas's do.
Every current board builds a self-chosen, independently researched topic into its speaking exam, and each names and marks it slightly differently -- differences that matter for how a student should actually prepare.
AQA's own specification calls it the "individual research project" and marks it within Paper 3: "Presentation (2 minutes) and discussion (9 - 10 minutes) of individual research project (35 marks)", inside a speaking paper that runs 21 to 23 minutes in total (including 5 minutes' preparation time), is worth 60 marks overall, and counts for 30% of the A-level. The remaining 25 marks come from a separate discussion of a sub-theme, based on a stimulus card.
Pearson Edexcel structures its speaking paper as two tasks rather than two named halves: "Students complete two tasks. Task 1 is worth 30 marks and Task 2 is worth 42 marks", inside a paper worth 72 marks overall and, again, 30% of the qualification. Task 2 is Edexcel's independent-research equivalent, and at 42 of 72 marks it carries proportionally more weight within its own paper than AQA's 35 of 60.
WJEC Eduqas builds the same research element into Component 1, its speaking paper: 21 to 23 minutes including 5 minutes' preparation, worth 60 marks and 30% of the qualification -- the same overall shape as AQA's Paper 3. Eduqas's own specification does not publish a further public breakdown of marks between the research element and the rest of Component 1, so this page does not invent one.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppNo -- and it is a different, GCSE-only story that a search results page can easily blur together with this one. Ofqual's own decision, dated 21 November 2018, states plainly: "We are today (Wednesday 21 November) publishing our decision not to adjust grading standards in these A level subjects, based on all the evidence" -- covering French, German and Spanish A-levels together. The only real intervention Ofqual has made at A-level is a narrower one, announced 21 April 2017: a statistical adjustment "to reflect research into the impact of native speakers taking these qualifications", not a general review of severity.
Grading at GCSE German did change, under a separate 5 November 2019 Ofqual decision covering GCSE French and German specifically -- our own GCSE French and German grading guide covers that story and its phasing in full. It is a different qualification from the one on this page, decided under a separate Ofqual review, and its grade-boundary changes were never extended to A-level.
Every figure on this page comes from the awarding bodies' own specifications, OCR's own subject-update notice, Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications, or Ofqual's and DfE's own published decisions, checked directly rather than taken from a secondary summary. Primary sources: AQA's A-level German (7662) specification, Pearson Edexcel's A-level German (9GN0) specification, WJEC Eduqas's A-level German (A820QS) specification, OCR's MFL withdrawal notice, CCEA's August 2026 withdrawal announcement, Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications, DfE/Ofqual's December 2014 subject-content decision, Ofqual's April 2017 grading announcement, Ofqual's November 2018 decision, and Ofqual's GCSE MFL decision. Checked 8 September 2026.
A German A-level is also the usual route into a Modern Languages degree, and Oxford and Cambridge both interview for it. Students heading that way can find genuine interview preparation in our Oxford Modern Languages interview guide and our Cambridge Modern Languages interview guide; the wider A-Level tuition hub lists the other subjects we cover at this level.
Three UK-wide GCE boards: AQA (7662), Pearson Edexcel (9GN0) and WJEC Eduqas (A820QS), all confirmed current on Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications. Northern Ireland has a fourth option, CCEA, which announced on 24 August 2026 that it will withdraw the subject after a final cohort starting September 2029. OCR stopped offering A-Level German in 2016. A board list that still names OCR, or that omits CCEA's Northern Ireland status, is out of date.
Only in Northern Ireland, and only from CCEA. CCEA announced on 24 August 2026 that the final cohort will commence their course in September 2029, with the final award offered in summer 2031 and one further resit opportunity. It does not affect a student entered with AQA, Pearson Edexcel or WJEC Eduqas anywhere else -- those three specifications are unaffected and continue as normal.
Yes, under entry code H476 (QN 500/2229/5). OCR's own subject-update notice, dated 16 May 2016, records "the difficult decision not to continue the redevelopment" of its GCSE, AS and A-Level Modern Foreign Languages, with a final assessment series in summer 2017 and a final resit series in summer 2018 -- a date independently confirmed by Ofqual's own register, which lists OCR's German A-level as no longer awarded with a final certification date of 31 August 2018.
A self-chosen research topic built into every current board's speaking exam. AQA calls it the "individual research project": a 2-minute presentation and 9-10 minute discussion worth 35 of the 60 marks on Paper 3 (30% of the A-level). Pearson Edexcel's equivalent is Task 2 of its speaking paper, worth 42 of that paper's 72 marks. Eduqas folds the same research element into Component 1, its 60-mark, 30%-weighted speaking paper, without publishing a further breakdown of marks within it.
No. Cambridge International (CIE) publishes its own "A Level German - Language and Literature" syllabus, examined internationally rather than through the UK's GCE system. A search of Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications for German A-levels, run on 8 September 2026 across every availability status, returns AQA, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC Eduqas, CCEA and OCR's now-withdrawn qualification -- no Cambridge International listing appears at all, because it sits outside Ofqual's regulatory framework entirely.
No -- that is a different, GCSE-only story. Ofqual's own decision, dated 21 November 2018, was not to adjust A-level grading standards in French, German and Spanish. The only real A-level intervention is a narrower one from 21 April 2017, addressing the statistical effect of native speakers taking the exam. Grading did change at GCSE, under a separate 2019 Ofqual decision covering GCSE French and German, but that change was never extended to A-level.
Our expert A-Level German tutors work from the actual paper structure your board sets -- AQA's 7662, Edexcel's 9GN0 or Eduqas's A820QS -- rather than a generic German course, including preparation for the individual research project each board builds into its speaking exam. Rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews. Book a free consultation or message us on WhatsApp.
Checked 8 September 2026: the entry codes, paper structure, marks, weightings and grading history on this page were verified against AQA, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC Eduqas, OCR, CCEA and Ofqual directly.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot. Our expert A-Level German tutors work from the AQA, Edexcel or Eduqas papers your school actually sets -- see also the A-Level tuition hub.
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