The Department for Education is aiming to raise the standards of GCSEs, A-Levels and BTEC qualifications and therefore most of these qualifications have recently been revised to enable young adults to achieve outcomes comparable to those achieved by the best of the rest of the world.
The main changes can be best summarised as:
- A-Levels are now linear two-year courses – this means all examinations contributing towards the A-level final grade will be sat at the end of the two-year course.
- Very few subjects still have coursework. In the subjects where coursework still exists, this coursework makes a smaller contribution towards the final, overall mark.
- A-Levels include more content, more synoptic assessment and a greater variety of questions are asked.
- All BTEC courses include externally assessed components; the externally assessed components are mandatory units which most often are assessed through a written examination.
- Chemistry, Biology and Physics are the only subjects where AS exams are sat externally at the end of Year 12.
- Some BTEC courses are now Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs) which are equivalent to a single BTEC.
Assessment
Although you may be expected to sit mock exams at the end of year 12, your mock grade will not contribute towards your A-Level grade (achieved at the end of Year 13). This means that at the end of Year 13 you will be examined on what you have learnt during both Years 12 and 13. However, your mock grade will be a reliable indicator of your A – Level performance that will be very useful when completing UCAS applications.
If you are planning to study for BTEC qualifications, these now involve externally assessed units. More details can be found on the assessment section for each BTEC course available at KESH Sixth Form.
General Entry Requirements
In addition to meeting the specific entry requirements for each course you chose to study, you must also meet the general entry requirements below.
To study for any A – Level course, you need to:
- have at least a grade 4 in both English Language and mathematics; and
- have an average GCSE grade of at least a 5 in six GCSE subjects.
To study 4 A-Level subjects, you need to:
- have at least five grade 7s at GCSE; and
- have at least a grade 6 in both English Language and Mathematics.
To study 3 A-Level subjects, you need to:
- have at least five grade 6s at GCSE; and
- have at least a grade 5 in both English Language and Mathematics.
To study 2 A-Level subjects, you need to:
- have at least three grade 6s and two grade 5s at GCSE; and
- have at least a grade 4 in both English Language and Mathematics.
To study for any BTEC or AAQ course, you need to:
- have at least a grade 4 in both English language and mathematics; and
- have at least two grade 5s and three grade 4s at GCSE.
Students with a GCSE Combined Science will be able to study more than one science A-Level at the Academy’s discretion.