OCR A Level Physical Education Paper 2025 Mark Scheme Guide

Download the official OCR A Level Physical Education H555/01 Physiological Factors Affecting Performance mark scheme from the June 2025 examination series. This downloadable PDF contains the complete examiner mark scheme for OCR A Level PE Paper 1, including accepted answers, assessment guidance, levels-based marking criteria, examiner annotations, and indicative content used by OCR examiners during live marking.

The OCR H555/01 June 2025 mark scheme provides detailed answers and examiner guidance for all assessment objectives, including AO1 knowledge, AO2 practical sporting application, and AO3 analysis and evaluation. Students and teachers can use this document to understand exactly how marks were awarded in the live June 2025 OCR A Level Physical Education examination.

The mark scheme includes detailed guidance for questions covering skeletal muscles, cardiac cycle physiology, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), sports injuries, Bernoulli’s principle, muscle fibre characteristics, cardiovascular responses to exercise, respiratory volumes, altitude training effects, ergogenic aids, flexibility testing, coronary heart disease, warm-ups and cool-downs, linear kinematics, angular momentum, drag forces, and Newton’s laws of motion.
Section A contains examiner-approved answers relating to muscle actions, systole, EPOC, injury rehabilitation, and fluid dynamics. OCR explains acceptable responses for cardiac contraction phases, oxygen debt recovery, treatment methods including hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, and aerodynamic principles affecting sporting performance.

Section B explores advanced exercise physiology and biomechanics. The mark scheme provides detailed evaluation points for slow-twitch muscle fibres in hockey performance, cardiovascular responses to temperature increases, respiratory-frequency definitions, altitude effects on performance, creatine and nitrate supplementation, the Harvard Step Test, goniometer use, coronary heart disease prevention, and effective warm-up and cool-down strategies.

The biomechanics section includes examiner guidance on linear kinematics in javelin throwing, angular momentum during diving somersaults, drag forces affecting swimming, and aerodynamic resistance acting on a badminton shuttlecock. OCR explains how marks are awarded for force diagrams, rotational mechanics, conservation of angular momentum, and fluid-resistance analysis.

The extended-response section provides full levels-based marking guidance for the 20-mark question on Newton’s Laws of Motion and plyometric training for sprinters. OCR outlines the exact requirements for Level 1 through Level 4 responses, including AO1 scientific knowledge, AO2 sprinting application, and AO3 analytical evaluation.

The indicative content section includes examiner-approved explanations of Newton’s First, Second, and Third Laws, acceleration and friction forces in sprinting, action-reaction principles, plyometric-training guidelines, explosive-strength adaptations, fast glycolytic muscle fibres, ATP-PC energy-system adaptations, neural recruitment, connective-tissue development, and sprint-specific physiological improvements.

The mark scheme also contains official OCR examiner annotation guidance explaining the meaning of tick marks, benefit-of-doubt annotations, development indicators, AO1/AO2/AO3 coding, levels-of-response labels, and examiner instructions for contradictory answers, multiple-choice responses, and extended-response marking procedures.

This OCR A Level Physical Education H555/01 mark scheme is ideal for examiner-standard revision, self-assessment, retrieval practice, coursework support, mock-exam marking, and understanding how OCR applies assessment criteria in live examinations. Pair this document with the official OCR H555/01 June 2025 question paper for complete examiner-style revision and performance analysis. Updated for the 2025/2026 academic year, fully mobile-friendly, and instantly downloadable.

This document is designed for OCR A Level Physical Education students preparing for the 2026 examination series, resit candidates improving Physiological Factors Affecting Performance exam technique, home-educated learners, and independent candidates studying A Level PE. It is especially valuable for students learning how OCR applies AO1 knowledge, AO2 sporting application, and AO3 analysis and evaluation during live marking.

Teachers, PE departments, tutors, revision-course providers, intervention coordinators, and parents can use this official OCR mark scheme for mock-exam marking, examiner-standard feedback, classroom discussion, retrieval practice, and benchmarking student responses against live June 2025 OCR assessment standards.