Nicola Heath, Psychology Subject Advisor

In September 2025, we launched our brand-new and unique qualification, the Cambridge Advanced Nationals (AAQ) in Mental Health: Individuals and Society (H018/H918). 

The qualification is ready to teach from September 2026 and we have been hosting webinars introducing the content and support arrangements for teachers. In this blog I’ll share answers to some of the questions frequently asked by teachers at these events. 

Some of the questions will also be applicable to our other Level 3 Cambridge Advanced Nationals (AAQs) qualifications. Some of these have been available to teach from September 2025, while others will be in place from September 2026. For more information about all of the subjects in this suite of qualifications, you can download our draft specifications, the Sample Assessment Materials (SAMs) and the mapping guides from our dedicated webpage.

About the qualification

Can students study AAQs alongside A Levels or other qualifications?

Yes, our AAQs are designed to complement existing A Levels. 16 to 19 year old students who want to progress onto further or higher education, but don’t want to study only A Levels (or a T Level programme), can choose a mixed study programme. 

How much overlap is there with A Level Psychology or Health and Social Care AAQ? 

Mental Health: Individuals and Society has been designed to complement the mental health content in the A Level Psychology and Cambridge Advanced National Health and Social Care qualifications. This was important to us as we anticipated many students would want to study a combination of these as part of their programme of study. 

While psychology and health and social care tend to focus more on the diagnosis and medicalised treatment of mental health disorders, this new qualification aims to broaden students’ understanding of wider impacts on society and alternative strategies for supporting mental health and wellbeing. 

What’s the difference between the Certificate and Extended Certificate option? 

We offer both the Certificate and Extended Certificate option for this qualification. The Certificate is 180 GLH and the Extended Certificate is 360 GLH. The Certificate involves just two modules, both of which form part of the Extended Certificate. This means you could offer one or both sizes up front or allow students to ‘drop down’ to a Certificate level if they need to. Having both options provides you with the flexibility to meet your students’ needs. 

Will this qualification support students who are applying to university? 

Yes, Cambridge Advanced Nationals have UCAS tariff points and were created with the goal of supporting students to enter higher education. Many universities have provided letters of support for this qualification and would welcome students who study it. 

What fees apply to Cambridge Advanced Nationals?

Full details of fees are on the administration section of our website. Please always access the website directly to make sure you have the most up-to-date information.

Assessment

When will the exam windows be?

Exams will be in January and June each year. 

Is there a ‘terminal rule’ for Cambridge Advanced Nationals? 

There is no requirement to take exams as terminal assessment at the end of the course. Examined units can be taken in any January and/or June series. 

What about unit resits? 

• Students can resit an examined unit twice before they complete the qualification.
• There are two windows each year to submit NEA outcomes and request a moderation visit by a Cambridge OCR assessor. When resubmitting an NEA unit, students must submit new, amended or enhanced work, as detailed in the JCQ Instructions for Conducting Coursework.
• A student’s best result will be used to calculate the certification result. 

Do we need to write assignments for units or will Cambridge OCR set assignments?

• We will publish a new set assignment each year and they will be live for two years. Cambridge OCR set assignments are used for students’ summative assessments. 
• The assignments are set by us, taken by students under supervised conditions (unless we specify otherwise in the assessment guidance), assessed by the teacher internally and moderated by us externally. 
• Each new set assignment will be released in June. 

Can students improve their work if we mark it before it is externally moderated? 

Yes, students can repeat any part of the assignment, but note the following: 

• You can discuss work in progress towards summative assessment with students to make sure it’s being done in a planned and timely way. 
• Generic guidance to the whole class is also allowed. This could include reminding students to check they have provided evidence to cover all key aspects of the task. Individual students can be prompted to double check for gaps in evidence providing that specific gaps are not pointed out to them. 
• You can give general feedback and support if one or more students are struggling to get started on an aspect of the assignment or following a break between sessions working on the assignment.
• Feedback must not provide specific advice and guidance that would be construed as coaching. 
• You can find more information in the published specification. 

If a student fails a unit completely, can they still pass the qualification? 

Yes. Our ‘Every mark matters’ approach means that students are rewarded for the marks they gain across all units, even if they did not gain enough marks to pass one of them. This means that as long as they have enough marks for an overall pass, they do not need to pass each individual unit. We believe this approach is the fairest way to assess students. You can find out more in this video.

Resources and support

Will there be textbooks and resources for these qualifications?

Yes. Our support materials for learning and teaching include endorsed textbooks, schemes of work, sample assessment materials, curriculum planners, candidate style work and candidate style answers. 

All our teaching and planning resources for AAQs, including the live assessment materials, will be available to download from Teach Cambridge. We anticipate these will start to become available from early spring 2026. You can view our current specification and sample assessment materials to get you started.

 The publisher Eboru is currently working on a textbook to support this course. You can sign up for updates direct from the publisher. 

What support do you have for me as a new centre? 

For teachers moving from another exam board, we have developed a clear onboarding pathway that will guide you through essential information about our products and services. Please let us know via this form that you intend to teach this qualification so that we can ensure you get all of the information you need, when you need it. 

You will also have access to our dedicated subject advisor team for support related to delivery and assessment. You can arrange a one-to-one Microsoft Teams meeting with a subject advisor, or ask any questions, by contacting our customer support service team at support@ocr.org.uk. 

Where can I get more information? 

For more information, you can download our specifications and sample assessment materials from our qualifications webpage. There are additional FAQs for Cambridge Advanced Nationals in general. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to book a call with a subject advisor.

Stay connected

If you have any questions, you can email us at psychology@ocr.org.uk or call us on 01223 553998. You can also sign up to subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use the our online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.

About the author

Nicola joined OCR in 2022 as the Subject Advisor for Psychology. Prior to joining OCR, she taught psychology for over 10 years and has had various other responsibilities in that time, including being Head of Year and Subject Leader for PSHE. Nicola has a personal interest in mental health and wellbeing and enjoys reading, baking and spending time outdoors to relax.