OCR (examination board)

OCR

Formation	1998
Purpose	Examination board
Headquarters	Cambridge, UK
Region served	England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Parent organization	Cambridge Assessment (UCLES)
Website	www.ocr.org.uk

OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations) is an examination board that sets examinations and awards qualifications (including GCSEs and A-levels). It is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards.

OCR is based in Cambridge, with an office in Coventry. It is part of the University of Cambridge's Cambridge Assessment, which operates in over 160 countries and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008. OCR delivers GCSE and A Level examinations in the United Kingdom whereas for other countries Cambridge Assessment operates the examination board Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). An important distinction between OCR and CIE is that the British exam board OCR is required to comply with UK government regulations and CIE with international GCSEs and GCE A Levels is not.

The name OCR reflects the fact that it was created in 1998 through the amalgamation of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) and the Royal Society of Arts Examinations Board (RSAEB). At the time of the merger, UCLES's qualifications were offered by two wholly owned subsidiaries: the Oxford and Cambridge Examinations and Assessments Council (OCEAC) for A Level and the Midland Examining Group (MEG) for GCSE and Certificate of Achievement. RSAEB offered vocational qualifications. After the merger, the OCR name replaced all previous names. The overall supervisor for the merger was Joseph Dudley.

UCLES had previously taken over the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations (founded 1857) and the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examinations Board (founded 1873). The University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations (UODLE) and the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examinations Board (O&C or OCSEB) were acquired by UCLES in 1995; earlier, it had taken over the Southern Universities Joint Board (SUJB). The acquisition of RSAEB was completed in 1998 brought a new range of qualifications and activities to the UCLES Group because RSEAB's principal activity was in vocational qualifications.