Private Students and NEA Supervision

If you are a private student it is often easy to overlook the NEA component for History A Levels, however there are very specific deadlines that the exam boards set and Centres are very strict with escalating fees for later applications. Plan ahead, enrol early in the year and secure lower fees and the maximum support

We are proud at Past Explorers Ltd to offer support to students studying History A Levels privately outside of traditional education and in accordance with the standards set by exam boards like AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR. In 2026 we were approved by Tutors and Exams UK to provide support to students who enrolled with them as their Centre of choice.

All students need a Centre for exams and administration. This is usually the school or college which a student attends. However a number of students take on extra qualifications for a variety of reasons – busy sporting activity that keeps them away from traditional educational schedules, lack of availability for their favourite subjects at their local colleges, or returning to education and managing it around part time jobs or caring responsibilities. Whatever the reason, the thorny issue of finding a place to do the exams is settled by companies providing Exam Centres at strategically located places across the country (and world – I see you British Council). You study at home, and when the time comes travel in and take your exams. An excellent arrangement!

While we can provide support to you for your exams through regular tutoring, Past Explorers also offers bespoke support for your Non Examined Assessment or NEA. This larger single piece of coursework involving research, analysis, and interpretation is the best part of the History A Level in our opinion. This is because it actively prepares you with the skills to use at university. Excel at the NEA and you can hit the ground running when you get to university.

Every exam board takes a different approach to the NEA and its important to remember you cannot ‘pick and mix’ components between exam boards. If you are taking exams for AQA History, then your NEA must align with their requirements. Same for Pearson Edexcel, OCR and other exam boards. If you are uncertain what is involved, that is where we come in!

Whatever your exam board, if you reach out using the form below we can arrange a quick 20 minute chat to identify your precise needs and lay out a timeline that fits around you.

You will need to meet several criteria that is universal to the different exam boards;

• A minimum of 10 contact hours with your tutor – this allows them to teach you the requirements of the NEA, ensure you have the skills to undertake the research, avoid pitfalls around AI, and if your topic of choice is new to you, provide some background.
• Verification of your identity – this involves producing your passport or other identification documentation on camera to enable us to take a screen shot, and vouch that you are indeed you. The 10 contact hours and back and forth communication will also build a familiarity,
• Verification of your work as being your own – the way we achieve this is not by standing over you physically in a room. Your school or college teachers wouldn’t do that as they don’t have the time to take out of teaching the examined topics. Instead they would start you going and then let you complete the work at home. As they mark your regular classwork they can recognise your use of language – kind of like a fingerprint. We wouldn’t get that familiar with your writing style, so we provide a secure digital folder for you to store your notes, drafts and resources. The cloud tracks changes and so we can query any sudden progress from 235 words at 8PM, to 1994 words at 8.05PM. We will also discuss a draft with you so we know that you understand what it is you have written and can then declare the work as your own.

Where there are differences between the exam boards, your tutor will explain clearly what you need to know. There are a few things more generally that you should bare in mind:

• The NEA will be your work – we do not tell you what to write, we teach you how to research and structure the work before you start putting words to paper on your draft.
• Be sensible – your favourite historical topic may be too distracting when you need something that doesn’t advertise your passion but your skills
• Avoid overlap – most exam boards do not permit you to study an NEA topic that directly overlaps with your exams. Your tutor will clarify this in your first full session as you narrow down a question
• Time is your friend and your enemy – Start early and you can avoid some pressures come the ‘business end’ of the academic year. However make sure you do finish it comfortably in advance of the deadline to avoid unexpected delays (“The Dog Ate My Computer!”)
• Have a question? Ask. We are here to help and will be clear about where the line is that we cannot cross in supporting you.

Next Steps

Once you have chosen your centre (such as Tutors and Exams), they will then ask you to identify your tutor. After speaking with us you can provide our name and email address and then you will need to purchase your Coursework Package with us which is separate to your enrolment with the Centre.

Due to the seasonality of tuition between Feb-June, students who book their package before the Deadline for Early Entries will receive a 10% discount on our regular package fee of £400.

Click below to visit our shop and secure your Coursework Package, limited spaces exist. In the event that we cannot schedule times that work for you we will provide a full refund.

REMEMBER: You must have booked entry with a Private Exam Centre, we will provide your finished work to them and complete paperwork they require of us but we are not responsible if you fail to register with them.