Home > Qualifications
Advanced Highers
This Scottish qualification is taken in the sixth year (S6), a year after
taking Highers. For more information on the Scottish examination system,
see Scotland.
Advanced Subsidiary levels
See AS-levels.
AEAs
Advanced Extension Awards are sixth form examinations intended to differentiate
between the most able candidates, particularly in subjects with a high proportion
of A grades at A-level (in order to obviate the need for universities to
develop their own tests). They are not widely taken.
See Music & Dance Scheme and Dance & Drama Awards (DADAs).
A-levels
A-levels matter. Three A-levels, with good grades (in addition to at least
one AS-level), are now needed to get into the top university courses; two
for some others. Except in Scotland and international schools, the great
majority of pupils in independent schools take A-levels. They are regarded
as the 'gold standard' of secondary education, the passport to top universities.
There are some 40 A-level subjects, both academic and vocational; most sixth
forms in the book offer 20-25. There are A-levels in all the traditional
school subjects (English, history, chemistry etc) as well as many others
such as business studies, classical studies, media studies and psychology.
There are also A-levels in vocational subjects such as applied business and
health & social care. These are designed to enable students to develop
skills, knowledge and understanding to prepare them for the world of work
as well as for higher education..
Not all universities (or courses) necessarily accept all A-level subjects
and, for the purposes of university admissions, some A-level subjects are
more widely useful than others. Most schools help match A-level choices with
what your child wants to do after school, as well as their aptitudes. It
is worth finding out which subjects and - most important - which combinations
of subjects are available; some schools have an arts or science bias.
The A-level course is designed to be completed in two years in the sixth
form - taking the first half of each as an AS-level (or A1) in the first
year (lower sixth or Year 12), and completing it as an A-level (or A2) in
the second (upper sixth or Year 13). All now are modular: each A-level comprises
six discrete units, three at AS-level and three at A-level. They are marked
on a scale A-E (see also Tariff points)
The vocational A-levels (currently called AVCEs) do not at present have a
formal AS-level award. But from 2005 they will match the standard structure
and simply be called AS and A-levels, with no distinguishing moniker. Both
the AS and A-level vocational awards can be single or double (ie equivalent
to one or two AS or A-levels).
AS-levels
The Advanced Subsidiary (AS-level or A1) qualification is usually studied
in the lower sixth (Year 12). The aim is to encourage a broad programme of
study post-16 and young people are encouraged to study four or five AS-level
subjects in the lower sixth. Pupils can then either drop the subject with
the AS-level qualification, or continue in the same subject to A-level. Most
sixth formers in independent schools study four subjects to AS-level, taking
three on to A-level. Each AS-level represents the first half of an A-level,
consisting of the first three units and 50% of the marks. They are assessed
at a level of difficulty intermediate between GCSE and A-level. They are
marked on a scale A-E. See also A-levels.
AVCEs
See A-levels.
Dance & Drama Awards (DADAs)
These are government awards for students who want to become professional
dancers, actors and stage managers; some dance teaching courses are also
covered. Over 500 awards are made each year to students to train at one of
the 22 institutions in the scheme - which include the sixth forms of some
of the specialist schools in the book. DADAs provide means-tested help with
fees and living costs. Applicants must be over 16 for dance courses (but
for acting and stage management courses you must be over 18). Contact the
school direct for information and how to apply.
Entrance exams
Many schools set their own entrance exams; even those that use Common Entrance
(CE) may have their own exams for non-standard applicants. Some have their
own preliminary qualifying exams some years before CE. Some schools have
formed consortia (eg in London and Bristol), so that candidates for more
than one member school sit a single examination. Exams are usually held early
in the academic year prior to entry, so approach the school well in advance.
You may be able to get hold of some past papers - each school's will be
different. Try not to enter your child for more than 2 or 3 entrance exams;
that means being careful in your choice and, perhaps, choosing one that is
less competitive than the others. Do not throw your child into an entrance
exam without adequate preparation. Many of the hairy anecdotes of childhood
examination trauma are rooted in parents failing to ensure proper preparation,
particularly when transfer from a maintained primary school is being attempted
and the exam syllabus unfamiliar.
Exam results
Public examination results matter. And this can be a substantial part of
the package that most parents assume they are buying. Raw educational statistics
suggest they are right. Most independent schools score outstandingly well
in government statistics. But good results are not a reliable gauge of a
good education, indeed they are beginning to distort the concept of education
itself: a school may have done a better job getting a marginal candidate
to scrape through an A-level or two, than helping a bright pupil get four
grade As. And, depressingly, there are plenty of pupils now leaving school
with good A-levels who don't know (for instance) the structure of DNA or
who Ghandi was. Some schools emphasise their academic results at the expense
of all else - maybe a reflection of parents' concerns and certainly in response
to league tables. Many schools are keen to advertise the number of top grades
achieved and their percentage pass rates. A school could, of course, show
a 100% pass rate having put one successful candidate in for one exam. We
do not regard this as helpful information and we do not publish pass rates.
The School reports highlight the results per average pupil in a school's
cohort -usually results for GCSEs in Year 11 and A-levels in the upper sixth.
These are expressed as the average points score. (For explanations of these,
see GCSE scores and Tariff points). It is worth keeping academic results
in perspective and starting with the aptitudes of your child. Some children
will thrive in academic hothouses in which the principal aim is to get the
maximum number of pupils through 3 or 4 A-levels; others will not and may
do better in a less academic school and one which specialises in, say, riding
or expeditions. British pupils are now so hugely over-examined, with public
examinations in each of the last three years, that school leavers are being
put off higher education, at least in the short term. Parental pressure may
be counter-productive.
GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education, or GCSE, is normally taken at
16, following a two-year course in Years 10 and 11. It is designed to provide
a single system of examination across the whole ability range and to enable
candidates at all levels to demonstrate their knowledge, abilities and
achievements; it includes in-course assessment as well as exams. It aims
to test the ability to apply what is learned to practical situations rather
than merely the ability to remember and re-present factual knowledge which
has been acquired in the classroom. GCSEs may be taken in a wide range of
subjects and also in a few vocational subjects eg applied ICT. Pass grades
are A*-E but only A*-C are accepted for sixth form and university entrance.
It is worth keeping your eye on what subjects a school offers, and in what
combination your children would be allowed to take them. Our School reports
show that the range on offer in any one school is between 10 and 25 subjects
and that most schools let pupils take up to nine or ten GCSEs. Beyond that,
generalisation is more difficult; it will depend on the school timetable,
the ability of individual pupils and the school's policy. English, maths,
a modern language and a science will be the core but the school may insist
on all pupils taking eg French, the three separate sciences or two arts subjects.
This can reduce the choice if the maximum is of 9 or 10 and force your children
to drop subjects ludicrously early. Sometimes pupils may take one or two
GCSEs early (often maths or a language) and additional GCSEs in the sixth
form. There is a short GCSE course, designed to take half the study time
of a full GCSE; it is graded using the same scale but covers fewer topics.
The short course in IT is commonly taken in independent schools.
Highers
These are exams taken in Scotland and designed to be taken at age 17, in
the fifth year (S5), one year after S-grades. Highers are made up of units
which can stand in their own right. Four or five good Higher grades are needed
for a place at university in Scotland, where students traditionally go to
university a year earlier than they do in England (although this practice
is decreasing in popularity). Universities and colleges south of the border
find Highers confusing and sixth formers who want to go south will, in addition,
need to take Advanced Highers or A-levels.
Some S6 pupils may take additional Highers in subjects they have not previously
studied; in some schools a number of pupils may not take Highers until the
sixth year - usually pupils who need 2 years to cope with the course. See
also Scotland.
SATs
Standard Assessment Tasks are national tests or tasks taken at the end of
each Key Stage in the National Curriculum. Independent schools are not obliged
to take part and few do.
S-grades
Broadly speaking, the Scottish equivalent of GCSE - designed to test the
whole ability range - and taken at 16 in S4. Scottish pupils often sit S-grades
(standard grades) only in those subjects they do not propose to continue.
This means that some of the ablest Scottish pupils will have only 3 or 4
S-grades. Bear that in mind when you read our School reports on Scottish
schools.
Also try looking at:
School League Tables
Fee Planning
Fees UK
Financing - fees
School Loans in the UK
Education sites in the UK
Education Loan
Private Tutors
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