The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level, or more commonly, the A Level, is a
school leaving qualification offered by educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the British
Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education.
A number of countries, including Singapore and Mauritius have developed qualifications
with the same name as and a similar format to the British A Levels.
A Levels are generally worked towards over two years and split into two parts, with one
part studied in each year.
The first part is known as the Advanced Subsidiary Level, or AS Level.
The second part is known as the A2 Level.
The AS Level is a qualification in its own right, and the AS Level combined with the
A2 Level forms the complete A Level qualification.
Current usage A number of countries use A Levels as a school
leaving qualification.
The A Levels taken by students in some countries often differ significantly from the A Levels
taken in the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom
A Levels are the secondary school leaving qualification offered in England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, A Levels are also offered by select schools as an alternative school-leaving
qualification in place of the Scottish Advanced Higher.
The five main examination boards which administer British A Levels in the UK are:
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations
Edexcel Welsh Joint Education Committee
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment Edexcel and Cambridge International Examinations
also offer international versions of the British A Levels in the United Kingdom and worldwide.
The British variant of A/AS levels are also taken in many Commonwealth and former Commonwealth
countries, as well as in examination centres worldwide.
British international schools in foreign countries generally offer the British A Levels as offered
through Edexcel or Cambridge International Examinations.
At select examination centres, the British A Level exams may also be available to private
candidates.
Pakistan Pakistan also offers A-level.
It is basically a two years study in academics and is equivalent of college year in the matriculation
system.
However, like O-levels its fees are very costly and therefore preferred by middle upper and
upper classes.
It is offered by the largest private English medium school systems in Pakistan The City
School along with many other schools like Beaconhouse School System.
Brunei In Brunei, the A Level qualification is offered,
with examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations.
Some subjects are unique to Brunei or have a format, curriculum, or syllabus that is
unique to Brunei.
Malaysia In Malaysia, the A Level qualification is
offered, with examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations.
Some subjects are unique to Malaysia or have a format, curriculum, or syllabus that is
unique to Malaysia.
Mauritius
In Mauritius, A/AS Level qualifications are taken as part of the Higher School Certificate,
awarded upon successful completion of secondary school after passing of examinations jointly
administered by the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate and the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate.
A number of exam papers for offered, such as French, are customised to support the national
educational standards.
Additionally, International A Level qualifications from Edexcel are available, for which exams
may be registered through the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate.
Seychelles In Seychelles, the A Level qualification is
offered, with examinations conducted by Cambridge International Examinations.
Some subjects are unique to Seychelles or have a format, curriculum, or syllabus that
is unique to Seychelles.
Singapore
In Singapore, A/AS level qualifications are awarded upon successful completion of examinations
jointly administered by Singapore Ministry of Education, Singapore Examinations and Assessment
Board and the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate.
Zimbabwe The GCE Advanced Level qualification is offered
by the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, with the first localised Advanced Level examinations
being written in 2002 and full localisation of this particular qualification being completed
in the following year.
Before, this qualification was jointly offered by Cambridge International Examinations and
the Council in Zimbabwe.
The ZIMSEC variant is perceived to be more challenging than the UK version.
Former usage Caribbean
Recently within the Caribbean there has been a move away from the GCE Advanced Level to
the CXC CAPE examinations, making them a de facto university entrance examination.
However, some universities also require applicants to take separate entrance examinations and
the International Baccalaureate and European Baccalaureate are also accepted.
Hong Kong In Hong Kong, the British A Level was once
accused of grade inflation many years ago, and thus over time both the GCE A Level and
HKAL have become more strictly graded, as shown by NARIC research.
Compared to the usual 25–30% rate of achieving an A-grade in the UK AS/A2, there could be
statistically fewer than 0.05% candidates scoring an "A" in a single examination in
the Hong Kong Advanced Supplementary Level Examination and less than 1% rate of achieving
an A-grade every year in an A Level subject.
However, this comparison is seen by many as being meaningless and misleading because in
the first place, grade A is not the top distinction level and so comparing the second best grade
in the GCE A Level to the top grade in HKAL is not very useful and objective.
Moreover, it is important to note that because of the significantly different measurement
methodologies, these examinations are not directly comparable in terms of the skills
and knowledge demonstrated at each grade and that distinction rates alone cannot serve
as a fair indicator of one's absolute academic performance.
In that NARIC research, only the cumulative percentages were taken into account to reach
the huge generalisations, on the very unsafe assumption that two scales are exactly identical
and standardised.
The wide recognition for both qualifications in many local universities and companies all
attests to this.
For example, many prestigious overseas universities regard the HK qualifications as being equivalent
to the UK ones on a grade-by-grade basis.
See also General Certificate of Secondary Education
An entry qualification Ordinary Level An entry qualification that
has been phased out in the United Kingdom BTEC Extended Diploma Is the highest level
of the BTEC structure and is taken by people aged 16 or over.
NVQ level 3 Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education
Advanced Extension Award Higher
Advanced Higher Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination
Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level Malaysian Higher School Certificate
Sri Lankan Advanced Level Matura or Maturità
Baccalauréat Abitur
Advanced Placement Program International Baccalaureate Diploma
European Baccalaureate Bagrut
Matriculation Certificate Sixth Term Examination Paper
Leaving Certificate References
External links Qualifications and Curriculum Development
Agency: A Level resources University of Cambridge: International A & AS
levels The Guardian 2005 A Level results, 2005 AS-level
results