AS and A Level Chemistry A: What adaptations are in place for Summer 2021?

A Level Chemistry A (H432)

• The modifications made to the Practical Endorsement requirements earlier in the academic year allow you to award the Practical Endorsement even if students have not completed the usual minimum of 12 practical activities.
• Students should have met the 1.2.1 Practical Skills criteria and the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC), at least once for each statement.
• In exceptional cases, students whose pattern of practical work over the two-year A level indicates that they were clearly on course to demonstrate competence may also be awarded a Pass. This exception is intended to be used where students are genuinely unable to complete further practical work before the submission deadline and is not an alternative to carrying out additional practical work where this is possible.
• If students have completed very limited or no practical work at the point when Practical Endorsement results are submitted, there will be insufficient evidence to base Practical Endorsement judgements on. A ‘Not Classified’ result should be submitted for these students.
• Students can still be taught about any apparatus and techniques they were unable to cover using demonstrations/simulations or videos. However, this cannot be considered evidence for competency.
• Centres must still submit an OCR NEA Centre Declaration Form. (https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/471128-nea-centre-declaration-form-gcw367.pdf)
• All monitoring during the 2020/2021 academic year will be carried out remotely. There will be no face-to-face visits. Remote monitoring will not include a lesson observation, but teacher records and student work will still need to be inspected.

AS Level Chemistry A (H032)

• For students who are on an AS only pathway, if they cannot carry out practical science work, they can observe a demonstration and/or simulation carried out by a teacher or remotely (for example by watching a demonstration online or a video). 
• Students who are completing an AS Level as the first year of the two-year A Level course are currently still expected to meet the full A Level Practical Endorsement requirement before examinations in June 2022. 
• A minimum of 15% of the marks in the written examinations will still cover indirect assessment of practical skills. 

For more information on submitting endorsement grades please check: What are the arrangements for endorsement grades in summer 2021?

For more information on the grading of qualifications in summer 2021 please check: Everything you need to know for summer 2021