For A Level English Literature, will students be penalised for exceeding the NEA word count?

Students won't be specifically penalised for exceeding the word count. However, we would advise students to keep as close to the 3000 words as possible, mainly because a response that significantly differs from the word count will be self-penalising, either by not demonstrating the AOs to the required level or by not fulfilling the requirements of the task. 

If a student has not been able to deliver a clear and relevant argument within the word limit, then this is less of an achievement than another student who has. The work cannot be measured fairly against the work of other students, on both a cohort and national basis, who have completed the task within the set parameters. In practice, any student who starts approaching 5-10% over the word limit is extremely likely to be self-penalising.