The NEA (Non-Examined Assessment) is an independent programming project submitted in Year 13. You design, build, test, and document a software solution to a real problem. It is worth 20% of your A Level grade — significant enough to be worth taking seriously from the start of Year 12.
The code usually works. The documentation usually does not meet the mark criteria. Most marks are lost in Analysis, Design, and Evaluation — not in Implementation. Students spend 90% of their time coding and 10% on documentation. The marks are almost the opposite way round.
The NEA is not marked on whether your program is impressive. It is marked against specific criteria for each section. A modest program with excellent documentation will outscore a complex program with weak documentation every time.
Know this before you write a single line of code.
Implementation is 45% — but only if it works. If the code does not function, Implementation marks collapse. Documentation (Analysis + Design + Testing + Evaluation) is 55% of the marks. Most students treat documentation as an afterthought.
Analysis earns 9 marks but most students score 4–5. The difference is specificity.
Design earns 12 marks and most students write half a page. Examiners expect evidence of genuine planning before coding began.
Structure diagrams or hierarchy charts showing the overall system. Data dictionary — every variable, its type, and its purpose. Algorithm designs in pseudocode or flowchart for key processes. UI mockups (hand-drawn is fine). Test plan created before testing begins.
Most students write their test plan after testing is complete and reverse-engineer it. Examiners see this immediately — the plan and results match too perfectly. Write the test plan in Design, before implementation. Your results will then show genuine evidence of development.
Testing is the most formulaic section. There is a clear structure and following it reliably earns 12–15 marks.
Evaluation is not a summary of what you built. It is a critical analysis of how well it meets the original criteria.
Miss ICT NEA sessions cover project planning, documentation structure, and section-by-section guidance — all within OCR academic integrity rules. No code review, no writing for you. Just the framework that gets marks.
Ideally Year 12. Students who scope their project and write their Analysis in Year 12 are in a much stronger position than those who start everything in Year 13.
No — OCR academic integrity rules prohibit any external review of your code. Miss ICT support covers project planning and documentation structure only.
Any language you know well. Python is fine. The marks are not affected by language choice — only by whether the code works and demonstrates the required techniques.