You can get help with your A-level Biology A revision by referring to the advance information released by the exam board OCR
After two years of cancellations, A-level exams are scheduled to go ahead in 2022.
They will be slightly different to previous years, though, “to recognise disruption to education during the pandemic and maximise fairness for students,” the Department for Education (DfE) has said.
This means that, for most subjects, the exam boards have released advance information on the topics covered in specific exams, to help students focus their revision.
Here’s what you need to know about the advance information for the OCR A-level Biology A exams, as well as when the exams are happening, how to prepare for the exams and when you’ll get your results.
Where to find advance information for the OCR A-level Biology A exams
There are several differences to how OCR A-level Biology A will be assessed in 2022, compared with other years.
You can find all of the advance information for OCR exams by using the OCR advance information finder tool here.
You can go straight to a download of the advance information for OCR A-level Biology A by using this link from OCR.
The advance information for this series of exams provides a list of the major focus of the content of the exams.
Check out our video for advice on how to use the advance information.
Do I only need to study the advance information?
At the start of February, the exam boards released advanced information about the topics covered in most GCSE and A-level exams.
Exams regulator Ofqaul has said the purpose of advance information is to support students in “focusing revision for exams” to make things more fair “given the disruption they have experienced, and many continue to face, due to the coronavirus pandemic”.
Guidance from the exam boards has emphasised that it’s still going to be important to have a broad understanding of everything covered in your exam’s syllabus.
This advice, released by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), is clear that “some questions in the examinations…will require knowledge beyond what is included in advance information".
The advance information can help with your revision focus, but to be fully prepared you will still want to have an understanding of the whole syllabus.
Will the exam paper look different to past papers?
There will not be changes made to the structure of the exam papers for the subjects that have advance information, the exam boards have confirmed.
“Advance information does not require any changes to a question paper’s usual structure, which means that the examination assessment will be familiar to students” and that past papers will have “continued relevance” to revision, JCQ said in its guidance.
What dates will the 2022 OCR A-level Biology A exams happen and how long are they?
OCR: A-level Biology A: H420/01: Biological processes will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 9 June 2022 and will last for two hours and 15 minutes.
OCR: A-level Biology A: H420/02: Biological diversity will take place on the morning of Friday 17 June 2022 and will last for two hours and 15 minutes.
OCR: A-level Biology A: H420/03: Unified biology will take place on the morning of Friday 24 June 2022 and will last for one hour and 30 minutes.
What time will the exams start at?
Most centres will start morning exams at 9am and afternoon exams at 1.30pm.
You should double-check timings with your exam centre in advance though, as they can move the exam time to 30 minutes later or earlier than these times.
Most exam centres will ask you to arrive at least 10 minutes before the exam starts.
When is A-level results day 2022?
A-level results day is 18 August 2022.
What will happen if exams are cancelled in 2022?
The DfE has said it is “firmly committed to GCSE, AS and A-level exams going ahead in England” in 2022.
But there is a plan “in the unlikely event that exams in England cannot go ahead next year due to the pandemic”.
If exams did get cancelled, students would be given teacher-assessed grades. Ofqual has given teachers detailed guidance on how they would decide these grades.
Our sister site The Uni Gui has more information about what would happen if the 2022 exams were cancelled, including how teacher-assessed grades would work.
More on TSR
- Our main revision articles hub
- Advance information: what is it and where can you find it?
- How to study effectively for your exams
- Ace your exams with our guide to free revision resources
- How to handle revision and exam stress
- Directory of discussion threads for individual A-level exams
- Directory of discussion threads for individual GCSE exams
