AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas each set A-level Psychology differently — what Ofqual requires of all of them, and what changes for 2027.
Book a Free ConsultationA-level Psychology is a two-year Level 3 qualification examined entirely through written papers, offered under separate specifications by AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas. It was the second most-sat A-level subject in the UK in 2026, recording 79,201 entries in JCQ's published results, behind only Mathematics. Every one of those specifications must, by regulatory requirement rather than board choice, devote at least 10% of its marks to mathematical skills at Level 2 or above.
Not sure which specification your child's sixth form has entered them for? Our expert A-level Psychology tutors teach to AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas alike, building every session around that board's own paper structure and command words.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppA school's own choice of specification is usually invisible to a family until a code appears on a timetable or a statement of entry. AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas each offer an Ofqual-regulated A-level in Psychology, under their own codes.
AQA enters students under specification code 7182 for the full A-level (AS is 7181), with qualification accreditation numbers 601/4838/X and 601/4837/8 respectively — figures AQA states directly on its own specification page: 'AS is 601/4837/8. The QAN for the A-level is 601/4838/X.'
Pearson Edexcel's equivalent is 9PS0 (AS 8PS0), with qualification number 601/5573/5, as its own qualification page confirms: 'Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Psychology (9PS0)... Qualification Number (QN)... 601/5573/5.'
OCR's current A-level runs under code H567 (AS H167), qualification number 601/5122/5 — though, as the section below sets out, this is the one code among these that is due to change. OCR's own qualification page states: 'Specification code: H567. Qualification number: 601/5122/5.'
Eduqas — the Ofqual-regulated brand WJEC operates for schools in England — enters A-level Psychology under code A290QS, qualification accreditation number 601/6044/5. Its own specification records the entry line as 'WJEC Eduqas A level Psychology: A290QS', but the same document is explicit that this qualification 'is not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales' — an England-market qualification, despite being set by a Wales-based awarding body.
Two of the figures already mentioned are not any board's choice. They are set by regulation, which is why they read the same whatever specification a family is looking at — and why they are worth knowing before comparing anything else.
The research-methods proportion and the assessment-objective weightings come directly from Ofqual's own subject guidance, published as Ofqual/14/5462, GCE Subject Level Guidance for Psychology, dated 23 May 2014. It states plainly: 'we expect that at least 25-30% of the marks available for the Assessments by Examination for such a qualification will be made available in respect of questions or tasks which indirectly assess a Learner's knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to research methods.' The same document sets assessment-objective bands, at A-level, of 30-35% for AO1 (knowledge and understanding), 30-35% for AO2 (application) and 35-40% for AO3 (analysis and evaluation).
This document is dated 23 May 2014. Checked directly against Ofqual's own gov.uk publication record on 7 September 2026, it shows no later update or replacement — it remains the current subject-level guidance for Psychology, but a family relying on it is relying on a 2014 document, not a recent one.
The mathematics floor is a different kind of requirement. It originates in the Department for Education's own national content criteria for A-level Psychology, published in April 2014 — the document Pearson's own specification appendix names directly: 'This appendix is taken from the document GCE AS and A level regulatory requirements for biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, published by the Department of Education (DfE) in April 2014.' Ofqual's own qualification conditions require every awarding organisation to comply with that DfE content, which is why AQA and Pearson Edexcel state the resulting floor in near-identical wording in their own specifications, rather than because either board chose the same figure independently.
A-level Psychology is assessed almost entirely through extended writing, which is why the mathematics requirement surprises many families. AQA's specification states it without qualification: 'At least 10% of the overall assessment of Psychology will contain mathematical skills equivalent to Level 2 or above.' Pearson Edexcel's specification sets an identical floor in its own words: 'The assessment of mathematical skills will include at least Level 2 mathematical skills as a minimum of 10% of the overall marks for this qualification.'
Level 2 is GCSE standard — the same level tested in a GCSE Maths examination, not A-level mathematics. In practice this means questions on descriptive statistics, ratios, percentages and basic probability embedded inside research-methods questions, rather than a separate maths paper. Eduqas does not restate the figure on its qualification's main pages, but its own specification points to where the detail sits: 'Mathematical requirements are specified in the subject criteria and repeated in Appendix A of this specification' — the same regulatory content, referenced rather than re-quoted.
Working out whether a school's own exam board changes how your child should prepare? Our A-level Psychology tutors start from the actual specification — AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or Eduqas — a student has been entered for, not a generic psychology syllabus.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppOnce a family knows which specification a school has entered a student for, the practical question is how that specification is actually assessed. This stays at the level of structure only — paper count, timing and what makes each one distinctive — because the syllabus-by-syllabus detail belongs to a dedicated page for each specification.
| Board | Code | Papers | Time per paper | Distinctive feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AQA | 7182 | 3 | 2 hours each | Paper 3 combines compulsory content with a nine-option pick-one-from-each-of-three matrix |
| Pearson Edexcel | 9PS0 | 3 | 2 hours 15 minutes (Papers 1-2, from June 2026); 2 hours (Paper 3) | Paper 3 is a dedicated 30%-weighted skills paper |
| Eduqas | A290QS | 3 | 2 hours 15 minutes each | Component 2 includes two pre-completed Personal Investigations |
| OCR | H567 | 3 | 2 hours each | Component 02 organised as ten paired classic-and-contemporary studies |
Sources: AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas specifications, quoted above. Codes are for the full A-level; see the section above for AS equivalents.
AQA splits the A-level into three papers of 2 hours each, worth 96 marks and exactly 33.3% of the qualification apiece. Paper 3, Issues and Options in Psychology, combines compulsory content with a pick-one-from-each-of-three-groups structure across nine optional topics in total.
Pearson Edexcel weights its three papers unevenly: Paper 1 (Foundations in psychology) and Paper 2 (Applications of psychology) each carry 35% of the qualification, while Paper 3 (Psychological skills) carries 30% as a dedicated synoptic methods paper. From the June 2026 series, Pearson has lengthened Papers 1 and 2 from 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes; Paper 3 stays at 2 hours, since it carries fewer marks — 80 rather than the 90 on each of the other two papers.
Eduqas splits its A-level into three components of 2 hours 15 minutes each, worth 100 marks and 33⅓% apiece. Component 2 carries its distinctive feature: it examines two 'Personal investigations' — practical activities a student carries out before the exam — through compulsory written questions in the exam itself, rather than through submitted coursework.
OCR's current specification (the one due to change — see below) weights its three components unevenly: Research methods (30%, 90 marks) is a dedicated methods paper, while Psychological themes through core studies (35%, 105 marks) and Applied psychology (35%, 105 marks) carry the content. OCR's distinctive structural choice sits in Component 02, which organises its core content as ten paired classic-and-contemporary studies rather than a conventional topic list, and Component 03, which pairs a compulsory Issues in mental health section with two options chosen from four.
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OCR has published a firm timetable for retiring the specification described above. In its own words: 'Following Ofqual's accreditation of our new A Level Psychology (H569) for first teach September 2027, the current A Level Psychology (H567) will have its final first teach September 2026, with final assessment summer 2028. We will stop offering an AS Level in Psychology after the next academic year. The final first teach for AS Level Psychology (H167) will be September 2026, with final assessment in summer 2027.'
Read as a set of dates rather than a headline, this settles a specific question a family can answer for themselves. A student beginning the OCR A-level in September 2026 is on H567, with final exams sitting in summer 2028 under that same specification. A student beginning in September 2027 is on H569, the specification OCR states has already been accredited by Ofqual for first teaching from that date. There is no year in between where a student starts on H567 and finishes on H569, or the reverse — the switch happens at the point of first teaching, not partway through a two-year course.
The AS-only route follows the same pattern one year earlier in its own cycle: H167 accepts its final first-teaching cohort in September 2026 too, with those students' final assessment in summer 2027, after which OCR is stopping the standalone AS Level in Psychology altogether.
This is confirmed directly on OCR's own qualification page, checked on 7 September 2026. OCR's specification code and qualification number for the outgoing A-level remain 'Specification code: H567. Qualification number: 601/5122/5' for as long as it is being taught.
Whichever OCR specification your child sits — the outgoing H567 or the incoming H569 — our A-level Psychology tutors teach to the paper structure a school has actually entered a student for, not a generic psychology curriculum.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppJCQ's 2026 results, covering the UK and all ages, recorded 79,201 A-level Psychology entries — a rise from 75,943 in 2025. Ranked against every other A-level subject in the same UK, all-ages series, Psychology sat second only to Mathematics, which recorded 115,380 entries, and ahead of Biology, at 73,925.
The same series shows a gender split rarely seen at this scale in an A-level subject: of the 79,201 UK entries, 59,844 were female (75.6%) and 19,357 were male (24.4%).
Grades also moved. 20.07% of UK, all-ages entries achieved A*-A in the 2026 series, up from 19.40% in 2025. Both figures cover male and female candidates of all ages across the UK, which matters, because an age-restricted or nations-restricted figure from a different table would not describe the same population.
For scale, JCQ's national press notice for the 2026 series recorded 906,425 total A-level entries across all subjects, up from 882,653 in 2025.
None of the comparisons above change what a student needs to revise — that is set entirely by the specification code on their own statement of entry, not by the subject name on a timetable. Our A-level tuition is built around whichever of AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or Eduqas a student's own sixth form has entered them for, working from that board's own command words, mark schemes and paper structure rather than a generic psychology curriculum.
For a student on OCR's outgoing H567, that means teaching to the ten core studies and the specific Component 03 options a school has chosen, for as long as that specification remains current. For a student starting under a different board, or under OCR's incoming H569 from September 2027, the starting point is the same: read the actual specification a school has entered a student for, rather than assume one board's structure describes another's.
Ready to start? Our A-level Psychology tutors teach every current specification — AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas — and build each programme around the exact paper structure a student's own school has entered them for.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppIt depends on the sixth form. AQA enters students under 7182 (AS 7181), Pearson Edexcel under 9PS0 (AS 8PS0), OCR under H567 (AS H167) and Eduqas under A290QS. The code appears on a student's statement of entry and is the most reliable way to confirm which specification applies, since the subject name on a timetable does not distinguish between them.
Yes. OCR states that H567's final first teaching is September 2026, with final assessment in summer 2028. Its replacement, H569, has been accredited by Ofqual for first teaching from September 2027. A student starting the OCR course in September 2026 completes H567; one starting in September 2027 begins H569. This is confirmed directly on OCR's own qualification page.
AQA and Pearson Edexcel both state, in near-identical wording, that at least 10% of the overall assessment tests mathematical skills equivalent to Level 2 — GCSE standard, not A-level maths. This covers descriptive statistics, ratios, percentages and probability embedded inside research-methods questions, not a separate maths paper or a full statistics module.
Ofqual's own subject-level guidance for Psychology, published 23 May 2014, states that at least 25-30% of the marks available across a specification's written exams must indirectly assess research methods. This applies to the qualification generally, under Ofqual's regulatory conditions, rather than being a figure any individual board set for itself.
No board includes coursework in the traditional sense — every specification is assessed entirely through written exams. Eduqas comes closest to a practical element: its Component 2 examines two 'Personal investigations', activities a student carries out before the exam, through compulsory written questions in the exam itself, rather than through submitted coursework.
No. Eduqas's own specification for A290QS states plainly that the qualification 'is not available for candidates in maintained schools and colleges in Wales.' Eduqas is the Ofqual-regulated brand WJEC operates specifically for schools in England; a Welsh state school looking for A-level Psychology would need a different board's specification.
JCQ recorded 79,201 UK entries across all ages in 2026, up from 75,943 in 2025, making Psychology the second most-sat A-level subject after Mathematics and ahead of Biology, which recorded 73,925 entries in the same series. 20.07% of the 2026 entries achieved A*-A, against 19.40% the year before; both figures cover male and female candidates of all ages across the UK.
Overwhelmingly by girls. Of the 79,201 UK, all-ages entries in 2026, 59,844 (75.6%) were female and 19,357 (24.4%) were male, according to JCQ's published results for the subject — a gender split more extreme than most other large-entry A-level subjects.
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