A levels are changing

There are big changes taking place nationally in education, designed to raise standards.  This means that the A Level and BTEC Extended Diploma courses we offer are undergoing reforms.  Not all the changes are coming in all at once, but they will be phased in over the coming three years.  This page provides an overview of the changes, but we have included more information on our website, which we would urge you to take the time to read.

The Department for Education is introducing new-style A Levels in three stages:  in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  The first phase of changes will affect students applying to start their post-16 education in September 2015.  All our courses are listed to the right and the schedule of changes is detailed below.

What are these changes?
A Levels are becoming linear two-year courses.  This means you need to study for the full two years to obtain the qualification.  We will ask A Level students to choose three subjects to study, although very able students may do four subjects. Hand-in-hand with this, we will be dedicating more teaching time to our A Levels in the first year, thus giving students more time with teachers to boost their learning experience.  As most universities and employers make offers based on a three A Level programme, we believe that the extra teaching time will help students achieve the best possible grades.

There will also be changes to the content of specific A Level courses, the amount of coursework, and to A Level examinations, not to mention more rigorous assessment for BTEC courses.  These changes are explained in more detail on our website.  “Old style” courses are still assessed using AS and A2 examinations and you can opt for a mix of old and new subjects.

What is changing?
• A levels are becoming linear 2-year courses – this means you need to study for the full two years to get the qualification.
• Coursework is being removed in all but exceptional cases and those courses that retain a coursework element will see it reduced from 40% to 20% of the final mark. In Sciences, assessment of practical work will not contribute to the final A level grade, but will receive a separate certificate of endorsement.
• A levels will include more synoptic assessment and more variety of questions will be asked.
• Examinations will be sat at the end of the two year course, not spread out over both years. Because of this, we cannot guarantee that re-takes will be available, as students will have to re-sit as external students, but we will try to support students who wish to re-take exams as much as we can. Please note that exam boards charge re-sit fees for each exam.
• There will also be changes to the content of specific A level courses and these are explained on our website on the specific course pages.

When are courses changing?
These changes will be phased in over three years, as follows:

Phase 1 – Students starting their studies in September 2015 should note that new-style A levels will be introduced for the following subjects:
English
History
Sciences
Art & Design
Business
Computer Science
Economics
Psychology
Sociology

Phase 2 – In September 2016, the following subjects will follow suit:
Mathematics
Further Maths
Modern Foreign Languages
Ancient Languages
Geography
Design & Technology
Physical Education
Dance
Drama
Music
Religious Studies

Phase 3 – In September 2017, the final round of changes will affect the following courses:
Classical Civilisation
Film Studies
Politics
Health & Social Care
 ICT
Law
Media Studies
Music Technology
Statistics

Don’t worry! Only the changes in September 2015 will affect you if you are starting your studies in that year. In other words, if you pick a course that is changing in 2016 (such as Mathematics), you will not find you are studying the old format in the first year and then suddenly change to the new format in your second year. The changes in 2016 and 2017 will only affect those students starting their A level studies in those years.

Why are these changes happening?
The Department for Education is aiming to raise standards by changing A level and BTEC qualifications. Changes are also happening to GCSEs from 2017, with this same aim in mind.  These new qualifications should better enable our young people to attain skills, knowledge and understanding comparable to the standards reached by the best of the rest of the world.