🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Exam board
OCR revision,
with a team behind it
Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations
Strong in Computer Science, Classics, PE and the sciences, with a distinctive question style.
OCR is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment and runs GCSEs, A-Levels and the Cambridge Nationals and Technicals vocational suites. It is the dominant board in Computer Science and Classics, and its science papers are known for synoptic questions that pull content from across the specification into a single scenario.
OCR at a glance
- Qualifications
- GCSE · AS and A-Level · Cambridge Nationals · Cambridge Technicals · Core Maths
- Grading
- GCSE 9 to 1. A-Level A* to E. Cambridge Nationals graded from Level 1 Pass up to Level 2 Distinction*.
- Exam series
- Main written series from mid-May to late June, with a November GCSE series for English and Maths.
- Results
- A-Level results in mid-August, GCSE results the week after.
Worth knowing about OCR
The specifics below are the ones that change how you should plan. Always check the current specification with your school or the awarding body — specifications get revised, and the version you are entered for is the one that counts.
OCR offers two routes in each science — the A and B specifications differ in how content is sequenced and assessed, so check which one your school entered you for before revising.
A-Level Computer Science includes a substantial programming project alongside the written papers, and it needs its own timeline running in parallel with revision.
Classical Civilisation and Ancient History reward knowing a set of named sources well enough to quote and date them, which is exactly the kind of thing spaced repetition is built for.
OCR's synoptic questions mean revising topics in isolation tends to underprepare you — interleaving across the specification works better.
What each teacher does for OCR
All eight are AI, and we say so plainly. What is real is the output: sessions in your calendar, sources in your book, citations checked, cards queued until you can recall them cold.
Daniel · Study planner
Takes your OCR subjects and works backwards from the real timetable. Main written series from mid-May to late June, with a November GCSE series for English and Maths. Sessions land in your calendar as real events with reminders, and the plan adjusts when a week goes wrong.
Sarah · Subject tutor
Explains at the depth OCR actually assesses, with worked examples, then asks the questions that check you have understood rather than just followed along.
Tommy · Quizzer
Turns each concept you get into a spaced-repetition card and brings it back at widening intervals until you can produce it cold. GCSE 9 to 1. A-Level A* to E. Cambridge Nationals graded from Level 1 Pass up to Level 2 Distinction*. Most of the gap between where you are and where you want to be is recall under pressure, not understanding.
Margaret · Librarian
Finds sources, summarises them at three depths, imports them into your subject book and formats the citations in MLA, APA, Chicago or Harvard.
Eleanor · Writing coach
Reads your extended answers and essays for structure and argument, and shows you where a marker stops following you — without rewriting it for you.
Charles · Citation checker
Checks every in-text citation points at a real entry in your bibliography, and flags the ones that do not before a marker does.
Penny · Proofreader
Catches grammar, spelling, and the sentences that technically parse but will not survive a tired examiner.
Sam · Accountability
Tracks what you actually did against what the plan said, and tells you early when OCR preparation has slipped far enough to need a different plan rather than more willpower.
Subjects students bring us
These are the OCR subjects we see most. The teachers are not limited to them — if you are sitting something rarer, tell them during onboarding and the plan covers it the same way.
- Computer Science
- Maths
- Biology A and B
- Chemistry A and B
- Physics A and B
- Classical Civilisation
- Ancient History
- Latin
- Physical Education
- Psychology
- Geography
- History
OCR: fair questions
Which OCR science specification am I doing, A or B?
Your teacher or your exam entry slip will say — the papers are named on the front. It matters: the two routes assess the same broad content in different orders and with different emphases, so revising from the wrong one wastes time.
Can it help with the Computer Science NEA project?
It can help you plan the project, think through design decisions and review your write-up for clarity. The code and the analysis have to be yours. Daniel is genuinely useful here — programming projects slip because they have no fixed weekly deadline until suddenly they do.
How do I prepare for OCR's synoptic questions?
Practise pulling from multiple topics at once. Tommy can interleave decks so a chemistry session mixes bonding, energetics and organic rather than drilling one unit at a time, which is closer to how the paper will actually come at you.
Other boards in United Kingdom
AQA
The largest GCSE and A-Level board in England, used by around half of all entries.
Pearson Edexcel
GCSEs, A-Levels, International GCSEs and the BTEC vocational route, all under one board.
WJEC & Eduqas
The Welsh awarding body, sitting Made-for-Wales GCSEs in Wales and Eduqas specifications in England.
CCEA
Northern Ireland's awarding body, with its own GCSE grading scale including a C* grade.
SQA
Scotland's national qualifications — National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher, on their own calendar.
Start your OCR plan today.
Seven days free, no credit card. Ninety seconds of onboarding and Daniel has your OCR subjects, your exam dates and a week you can actually follow.
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