#Parents, are you up to speed on the A level reforms from Sept 2015?

Here are a few tips from our new Director of Consultancy Services, Brian McGee

You will no doubt have read in the press recently about changes taking place to A level reforms starting in September 2015. These changes are taking place over the course of the next three years and can be very confusing for parents.

The reformed A levels have been brought in as part of a proposed drive to raise standards, the idea being that the modular approach of recent years has made A levels easier, leading to grade inflation and a decline in our young people's skills compared to international comparisons. The result is a move towards less coursework and more terminal examinations at the end of two years of study. The AS level will disappear in its current form, with students studying three subjects for A level over two years and just one supplementary AS level in the first year, which will not be examined at A level standard.

The process of these changes has been staged, depending on how quickly the examination boards and Ofqual can ratify the new specifications along the lines of the new more stringent standards. Therefore some subjects will be introduced in September 2015 (English subjects, biology, chemistry, physics and social science subjects) with others following in 2016 (geography, modern languages, arts subjects, PE and RS). Mathematics has been delayed until 2017 because the complicated range of options made it too much of a rush. Many other smaller subjects will disappear altogether by 2017.

Many parents, and indeed schools, have been waiting for further guidance with regard to how the changes will be implemented during this transitional phase, with students beginning courses in September 2015 being offered a mix of the current and the new specifications. What does this mean for AS choices? And what does it mean for university entry in September 2017? The answer is still somewhat unclear. The University of Cambridge, which has relied very heavily on the AS results in recent years as the best indicator of future undergraduate performance, has come out strongly in favour of continuing to study 4 AS levels as a requirement for entry (see http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/8162). Other universities are advising schools that they will accept a range of combinations during the process of change.


As parents, the best advice is to contact your son's or daughter's school and to ask them about their plans for implementing the changes. There is very little they can do except to reassure you that the universities are fully aware of the changes and if necessary a call to one or two university admissions departments might serve to reassure you about A level choices and their implications for applications to particular courses. For more information visit the link below

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-the-facts-gcse-and-a-level-reform/get-the-facts-as-and-a-level-reform

Do you need help with A level choices or planning a university application? 

Our friendly, professional team of education consultants can help. Please get in touch for an informal chat about your requirements.

Tel 01865 522066 or email Claire via  consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk