A Levels and International Baccalaureate

After taking GCSE many pupils enter the ‘Sixth Form’ (Year 12). They may do this at the school at which they took their GCSE subjects or they may attend another school or college.

This change may be because they choose to move on. It may also be due to the fact that many schools combine their A level teaching and the subject that the pupil proposes to study is taught at a neighbouring school.

There are sixth form colleges or Further Education colleges and some teenagers feel that they would benefit from this environment rather than remain in school.

Most pupils in Year 12 will have studied a slightly broader curriculum of 4 or 5 subjects to AS Level (Advanced Subsidiary) for one year. At the end of this year they will sit an examination and be awarded a grade. For subjects available at this stage please see below. 

In Year 13, most go on and study 3 or possibly 4 of these subjects to A2 level.The examination at the end of that year incorporates the AS result in a full A-level grade, awarded for the whole two-year course

Some pupils may study Key Skills in Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology, and may gain an additional qualification in these skills.

Most other courses are likely to require at least B and C grades; a few will ask for Ds and Es for those wanting to study less popular subjects.

The combined teaching time for each AS and A2 level subject is between 280 and 320 minutes a week for approximately 64 weeks over two years.

A guide designed to give students all the information they need about A2 and AS levels can be obtained from the QCA.
AS and A levels: the official student guide to the system

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)

An increasing number of schools in the UK are offering the IB alongside, or as an alternative to, A-Level. This course is broader than A-Level and has a curriculum of six subject groups and is studied over two years. At both Higher and Subsidiary level, each examined subject is graded on a scale of 1 (minimum) to 7 (maximum).

The award of the Diploma requires a minimum total of 24 points. The maximum score attainable is 45. The most competitive universities will be looking for candidates with around 40 points.

Which subjects should I choose?
You will do better at subjects that you enjoy but they need to be relevant to the career path that you wish to follow . AS Levels have the advantage that they give you experience of more subjects, regardless of your choice of specialisation in the future.

Do AS Levels have any value on their own? An AS Level can stand alone as a qualification . University and college entry through UCAS award AS half the number of points awarded to a full A level grade . It is definitely worth trying to achieve a good grade, even if you know you do not want to carry a subject on to A2. You might even decide that you would like to study some more AS Levels and skip A2 altogether.

There are 5 AS Levels which are complete in themselves and do not represent half an A level. These are:

• Critical Thinking awarded by OCR
• European Studies awarded by AQA
• Science for Public Understanding awarded by AQA
• Social Science: Citizenship awarded by AQA
• World Development awarded by WJEC

Speak to your teachers, family and friends about the range and combination of subjects that will support your long-term goals and ambitions

The University and College Admissions Service website will give you information on the qualifications you will need to go on to Higher Education.

To download final specifications and sample assessment material please visit the OCR website.

OCR has begun the first stage of a planned release of free past papers onto the website.

In response to your feedback, OCR have published 1,000 free-to-download 2006 past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports. There are a few exceptions where they cannot secure copyright, but the majority of qualifications are now covered.

OCR have also published more than 100 papers from 2007, with more due online soon.

OCR's revised policy means that, in future, many more question papers will be published on the website after each exam series.

Once published online, the papers will remain available for at least two years. Again, you can download all these papers free of charge.

Please view the past papers page for details of the documents available to download.
 

I have included below some tables of ideas of subjects required for courses in Higher Education based on Arts, Modern languages and Science

The UCAS site will also provide you with information as will the universities and colleges.

Remember talk to the careers people, your family and if you are deciding on a profession such as medicine, law etc, find people who have made this choice recently and ask for advice. All this information could make life much easier for you later on.

• making questions more open-ended and less prescriptive, requiring greater thought and more detailed written answers;

• the introduction of an A* grade, to encourage the best students to demonstrate the upper limits of their ability;

• from 2008, all students will be able to produce an extended, dissertation-like, project requiring independent research, thought and planning.

Mr Johnson said:

“A generation ago, one in ten entrants received an A grade. Today, that is one in four - and not because the exam has got easier but because teaching has improved and pupils are studying harder.

“I don’t accept the views of those who seek to portray our nation and its children as being well on its way to Hell in a handcart, but I do agree that we should ensure that A-levels remain stretching.

“First, we will ensure that A-level papers contain more open ended questions, requiring greater thought and more detailed written replies, rather than short answer questions. This will give students an open-ended opportunity to shine and show their skills.

And, second, we will introduce a new A* grade to reward achievement in these more stretching questions, encouraging the best students to demonstrate the upper limits of their ability.”

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