OCR A-Level English Language (H470) 2026: The AO-to-Component Grid

OCR's A-Level English Language is specification H470, a linear qualification examined through two written papers worth 80 marks each and one internally assessed Independent Language Research component worth 40 marks, totalling 200 marks. OCR runs exactly one A-level route for this subject, paired with a single AS specification, H070, due to be withdrawn after its final sitting in June 2027. Every figure is sourced to OCR's specification PDF and its June 2025 and June 2026 grade-boundary documents.

This page sets out what sits beneath the headline numbers: which assessment objectives are worth nothing in which component, the section-level marks inside both exam papers, how OCR approves every Independent Language Research topic, and how OCR's own grade boundaries moved between June 2025 and June 2026 component by component rather than only at whole-qualification level.

Is There More Than One OCR A-Level English Language Specification?

OCR's own current English subject list settles this directly, listing three separately accredited English qualifications side by side: “English Language H070, H470”, “English Language and Literature (EMC) H074, H474” and “English Literature H072, H472”. A school searching for OCR A-level English Language has one specification to find, H470 — not two — but not one that can safely be entered twice over. OCR’s own specification states that a learner who enters H470 “may not also enter for any other A level specification with the certification title English Language and Literature in the same examination series”, though they may enter English Literature (H472) alongside it: a specific overlap rule against H474, not a general ban on combining English A-levels.

H470 is paired with a single AS specification, H070, sat only by students continuing into the second year of the linear course. Unlike several other OCR subjects, which run two separately accredited routes under the same subject title, English Language has no second version of H470 to confuse it with — the AS itself, and its own withdrawal timetable, is set out in full on our Year 12 OCR English Language page.

A Reader’s Own Test for Whether an OCR Link Actually Goes Anywhere

OCR’s own qualification pages do not reliably confirm that a specification exists. Fetching OCR’s real H470/H070 qualification page returns an HTTP 200 response of 62,143 bytes, with the codes “H470” and “H070” present and the phrase “English Language” appearing ten times in the body. Fetching an invented URL of the identical shape — a qualification code that does not exist — also returns HTTP 200, but at 48,110 bytes: a generic shell carrying only the placeholder heading “Qualification details”, twice, and not one occurrence of any subject name or the invented code. A third fetch, of an invented file path under OCR’s separate /Images/ document folder, correctly returns HTTP 404.

The practical test for a parent or teacher sent an OCR link: a 200 response from an ocr.org.uk/qualifications/ URL proves only that the address resolves, not that the page describes anything real. What actually confirms a subject exists is the content of the page itself — and this behaviour is specific to OCR’s /qualifications/ route, since the same host’s /Images/ document folder 404s an invented path honestly.

Where the Marks Actually Go: OCR’s AO-to-Component Weighting Grid

OCR publishes a single table mapping all five assessment objectives against each of H470’s three components, and reading it component by component surfaces something the whole-qualification percentages alone do not show:

Source: OCR’s A-Level English Language specification (H470), AO weightings table.

Two things follow from the grid that a reader working only from the whole-qualification total — AO1 27%, AO2 22%, AO3 28%, AO4 12%, AO5 11% — would not see. First, AO5, genre, audience and purpose awareness in a candidate’s own writing, carries a 0% weighting in Component 02: a student can score full marks on that paper without AO5 being assessed on it at all. Second, AO4 is worth 0% of Component 03, the NEA: it is tested only across the two written papers, never inside the independent investigation. OCR’s specification adds a rule governing how AO5 is used elsewhere on the qualification: “this assessment objective must be targeted with at least one of AO2, AO3 or AO4, either in the same task or in two or more linked tasks” — wherever AO5 is assessed, it is never assessed in isolation.

Inside the Two Exam Papers: What Each Section Tests and How Many Marks It Carries

Component 02 is itself worth 80 marks and represents 40% of the A-level — the same weighting as Component 01 — a figure OCR states directly in its own Forms of Assessment section rather than leaving it derivable only from the 200-mark qualification total. Both written papers then split into three sections carrying identical mark allocations — 20, 24 and 36 — but entirely different content paper to paper:

Source: OCR’s A-Level English Language specification (H470), Components 01 and 02.

Component 02’s Section A comes with a specific piece of exam apparatus most revision guides do not mention: OCR’s specification states that “transcribed spoken text will include phonemic features and a copy of the list of phonemic symbols and signs will be provided in the exam paper”, using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet. A student does not need to memorise the IPA from scratch — only to read it accurately, under exam pressure, against unfamiliar transcribed data. Component 02’s Section C then pulls texts spanning roughly four centuries, from the 1600s to the present day, while Component 01’s Section C is guaranteed to include at least one spoken text — a detail that should shape how revision time splits between written and transcribed-speech material. OCR’s own definition of what counts as source material is broader than a written text alone: “the term ‘data’ in the context of this specification refers to any source of English language that can be analysed... written texts, multi-modal texts or transcriptions of speech.”

The Independent Language Research NEA: Marks Split and Who Approves Every Topic

H470’s non-exam assessment, Independent Language Research, splits its 40 marks unevenly across two sections rather than by a round number: Section A, an independent investigation, carries 30 of them, and Section B, an academic poster presenting the same research, carries the remaining 10.

The topic itself is chosen by the student in discussion with their teacher, but OCR does not treat prior approval as settled once and for all. Its specification states that centres “must use the Task Titles Proposal Form to submit all chosen task titles to OCR for approval” and, more specifically, “must submit their Task Titles Proposal Form every series even if the task titles have been approved previously” — a teacher running a similar investigation topic across successive cohorts cannot rely on last year’s sign-off; the form goes back to OCR every series regardless. OCR places no restriction on the range of topics: “there is no limit to the range of topics appropriate for an independent investigation, and individuality of approach is in the spirit of the specification”, and it explicitly allows more than one student at a centre to investigate the same topic in the same series.

Two Years of OCR’s Own Component-Level Grade Boundaries, Compared

OCR publishes grade boundaries for each of H470’s components separately, not only for the qualification as a whole — which makes a genuine year-on-year comparison possible at component level. The comparison below is Leading Tuition’s own, built by setting OCR’s June 2025 and June 2026 boundary documents side by side; neither document states the year-on-year change as a single figure itself:

Source: OCR’s June 2025 grade boundaries and June 2026 grade boundaries. Year-on-year comparison is Leading Tuition’s own.

Component 01’s A* boundary fell by four raw marks between the two series, from 72 out of 80 in June 2025 to 68 out of 80 in June 2026 — a meaningful shift on a single paper. Component 02 barely moved: its A* boundary held at 65 out of 80 in both years, and only its lowest reported grade, E, moved at all, from 20 to 21. Component 03, the NEA, did not move at any grade in either year, on either of OCR’s two moderation routes, Moderated Upload and Moderated Postal. The qualification’s overall boundary fell from 172 out of 200 in June 2025 to 168 out of 200 in June 2026, a shift that traces almost entirely back to Component 01 — a student cannot read one whole-qualification trend and assume it applies evenly across all three components.

Availability, Language and Retake Rules for H470

H470 is available in England; OCR’s own specification directs anyone checking Wales or Northern Ireland availability to the relevant regional portal rather than confirming it directly: “this qualification is available in England. For Wales and Northern Ireland please check the Qualifications in Wales Portal (QIW) or the Northern Ireland Department of Education Performance Measures... to see current availability.”

Every assessment is in English only, and so is every piece of candidate work: “this qualification is available in English only. All assessment materials are available in English only and all candidate work must be in English.” OCR runs one examination series a year, in May/June, and has certificated H470 since the June 2017 series. A resitting student must retake every examined component together — Components 01 and 02 cannot be resat individually — but the NEA is more flexible: OCR allows a student to “either retake the non-exam assessment (NEA) or carry forward (re-use) their most recent result”, so a strong NEA mark from a previous attempt does not have to be repeated.

The qualification’s accreditation number, as OCR’s own specification states it directly rather than as independently re-checked against Ofqual’s public register this session, is QN: 601/4702/7, and its total qualification time is 360 hours.

How Leading Tuition Builds a Two-Year OCR H470 Programme

A two-year H470 programme has one deadline a generic revision plan misses: the Task Titles Proposal Form, resubmitted to OCR every series regardless of prior approval, which means a student’s NEA topic needs confirming on OCR’s own timetable, not just the school’s. Our A-level English Language tutors structure a programme around H470’s actual shape — building Component 01 and Component 02 exam technique around the AO weighting each paper genuinely carries, and starting Independent Language Research early enough that both the investigation and the academic poster are drafted well before the Task Titles Proposal Form’s series deadline, rather than compressed into a single term.

91% of Leading Tuition’s students go on to achieve their desired grades, and our coverage of English Language extends beyond OCR: for a family still confirming which exam board their child’s sixth form actually enters, our A-Level English Language board comparison page sets out how AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC Eduqas compare, paper structure and NEA rules side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions About OCR A-Level English Language (H470)

Does OCR offer more than one A-level English Language specification?

No. OCR's own current subject list shows exactly one A-level route for English Language, H470, paired with a single AS specification, H070. This sits separately from OCR's English Language and Literature (EMC) specification, H074/H474, and from English Literature, H072/H472. A student cannot enter H470 alongside H474 in the same examination series under OCR's overlap rule, though entering English Literature (H472) alongside it is permitted. Unlike some OCR subjects that run two full, separately accredited routes for the same title, English Language has no second version to confuse it with.

How many marks does each section carry inside OCR's two exam papers?

Both Component 01 (Exploring Language) and Component 02 (Dimensions of Linguistic Variation) split into three sections worth the same marks in each paper: Section A carries 20 marks, Section B carries 24, and Section C carries 36, for 80 marks per paper. The sections differ entirely in content: Component 01 covers language under the microscope, a topical language issue, and comparing texts including at least one spoken text; Component 02 covers child language acquisition (ages 0-7), language in the media, and language change from the 1600s to the present day.

Where is AO5 not tested on H470, and why does that matter?

AO5 -- genre, audience and purpose awareness in a candidate's own writing -- carries a 0% weighting in Component 02, Dimensions of Linguistic Variation, according to OCR's own AO-to-component weighting table. It is tested only in Component 01 (6%) and Component 03, the NEA (5%). Conversely, AO4 is worth 0% of Component 03: OCR's specification also states that wherever AO5 is assessed, 'this assessment objective must be targeted with at least one of AO2, AO3 or AO4', so it is never marked in isolation. A revision plan built only from the whole-qualification percentages (AO5 at 11% overall) would miss that Component 02 carries none of it at all.

What is the Independent Language Research NEA, and how are its marks split?

H470's non-exam assessment, Independent Language Research, is worth 40 marks and 20% of the A-level, split unevenly across two sections: Section A, an independent investigation, carries 30 marks, and Section B, an academic poster presenting the same research, carries the remaining 10. OCR sets no restriction on topic choice -- 'there is no limit to the range of topics appropriate for an independent investigation' -- and explicitly allows more than one student at a centre to investigate the same topic in the same series.

Does a school need OCR to approve NEA topics every year, even ones approved before?

Yes. OCR's specification states that centres 'must submit their Task Titles Proposal Form every series even if the task titles have been approved previously.' Prior approval of an investigation topic in an earlier series does not carry forward automatically; the form is resubmitted to OCR for every cohort. Task titles themselves are chosen by the student in discussion with their teacher, but every title, however familiar, is checked by OCR before the investigation can count towards the qualification.

How did OCR's H470 grade boundaries change between June 2025 and June 2026?

Unevenly across the three components. Component 01's A* boundary fell four raw marks, from 72 out of 80 in June 2025 to 68 out of 80 in June 2026. Component 02's A* boundary held flat at 65 out of 80 in both years; only its E boundary moved, from 20 to 21. Component 03, the NEA, did not move at any grade in either year, on either of OCR's two moderation routes. The whole-qualification A* boundary fell from 172 to 168 out of 200, a shift that traces almost entirely to Component 01.

Can an OCR web page be trusted just because it loads successfully?

Not on its own. Fetching OCR's real H470/H070 qualification page returns an HTTP 200 response with the spec codes and the phrase 'English Language' present throughout its 62,143 bytes. Fetching an invented qualification URL of the identical shape also returns HTTP 200 -- at 48,110 bytes, a generic shell with no subject content and no trace of the invented code -- while an invented file path under OCR's separate /Images/ document folder correctly returns HTTP 404. A 200 response from OCR's /qualifications/ route proves the URL resolves, not that the page describes anything real; checking the body itself is what actually confirms it.

Is OCR A-Level English Language available in Wales or Northern Ireland?

OCR's own specification confirms availability in England directly, but for Wales and Northern Ireland it does not state availability itself -- it directs a school to check separately, 'the Qualifications in Wales Portal (QIW) or the Northern Ireland Department of Education Performance Measures... to see current availability.' A school outside England should not assume H470 is automatically offered locally without confirming through one of those two named portals.