Advanced Level Qualifications, commonly known as A Levels, are the highest level of certification offered by most secondary schools across the United Kingdom. Introduced in 1951, A Levels are well established, and lots of advice exists online to help parents and students understand this powerful qualification, some of which is linked below. As the ubiquitous culmination of UK schooling, most of our tutors specialise in A Level guidance. For first-hand information and specialised advice, you can find their profiles on our Find a Tutor page to book some time with them and discuss the next step for yourself or your child.
Most people take A Levels over two years when they are 16-18 and in full-time education at a school or college. However, taking A Levels without being affiliated with an institution or at any age is also possible. For more detailed eligibility requirements, please check here. It is essential to consider if you have the right educational background to take A Levels. Typical requirements to enter into an A Level programme are:
For ab initio subjects where no prior GCSE is offered, like Psychology, Sociology, or Economics, schools may consider students’ performance in related core subjects. For example, before embarking on an Economics A Level, some schools will set their requirements based on a student’s Maths GCSE score. It is, therefore, important to consider whether you have an aptitude for the skills required to excel.
A Level offers a wide array of subject options, a complete list of which is available here. In recent years, the most popular subjects have included English, Chemistry and Psychology, but Maths remains the most popular. With the breadth of qualifications on offer, it is rare for schools to offerit is rare for schools to offer tuition in every A Level course. Traditionally, schools will primarily offer core curriculum subjects.
As well as choosing subjects that students enjoy and excel in, it is worth considering the potential for study beyond A Levels, as Universities often stipulate specific grades in particular subjects as their entry requirements. For those who already know what they plan to study, it can help to try browsing some universities’ undergraduate entry prospectuses and websites.
For those undecided on their future university prospects, the Russell Group, a collection of twenty-four of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious universities, recommends making your choice from eight ‘facilitating’ subjects that help keep options open by covering a broad range of core topics:
For an informative guide that helps students choose their A Level subjects and prepare for university admissions, the Russell Group has created an excellent specialised platform, Informed Choices.
Although taking up to five A Levels is possible, students following a two-year programme of full-time study generally take three. Combining A Levels with lesser one-year AS Level qualifications may also be possible, but these are slowly being phased out and prove less popular with students. Talk to your school or institution to find out what options are available.
A Levels are mostly assessed by a series of exams at the end of two years, although some subjects, like Art & Design, still contain elements of coursework. For Chemistry, Physics and Biology, the courses will also include an element of practical assessment.
Quantifying the difficulty of A Levels is an impossible task, as a flexible metric that will inevitably fluctuate for every individual. However, it is important to understand the differences between A Levels and previous qualifications taken beforehand.
Compared to GCSEs, A Levels will inevitably feel like a considerable step up in difficulty for most students. Although whittling the number of subjects down from the eight or more taken at GCSE to three at A Level may appear to be a comparatively straightforward exercise, the intensity of material covered by each qualification far outstrips that of GCSE. Students are expected to develop a deeper perspective on their chosen subject, often grappling with complex information and learning to analyse it for themselves.
Another significant change from GCSE or equivalent previous qualifications will be the far greater amount of independent learning and personal motivation students must have. Students are often advised to spend an equal amount of time, if not more, on independent study as they do in class-based lessons.
Although these factors may make taking A Levels a daunting prospect, learning to manage time well and dealing with a heavier material course load are interdependent skills that students will be expected to develop at university. As such, choosing to pursue rigorous post-16 qualifications will prepare them well for their next step, provide students with good assets for life in general, and gain the respect of future employers.
A Levels are not the only higher-secondary qualification offered in the UK. For those who might prefer to pursue more technical or industry-based qualifications, it is worth considering apprenticeships and traineeships on offer, or perhaps the new programme of T-Levels. Alternatively, for students who would prefer to maintain a more varied subject course load or hope to study internationally after school, the International Baccalaureate has gained popularity as an appealing alternative. For a comprehensive guide to post-16 qualifications in the UK, please click here.
As the most prominent UK post-16 qualification, A Levels form an important part of university applications for most students nationally and are well understood by admissions offices. As such, holding A Level qualifications sets any student looking at University places in the UK in very good stead.
Established as they are, A Levels are accepted by most prominent international institutions. For an appealing list of reasons to study outside of the UK, please click here.
Whether considering further study or launching straight into work, employers at any level deeply value the educational standard set by completing an A-level course.
For many people, A Levels mark an important developmental stage in their academic and personal journeys, as the culmination of time at school. As such, they are a valuable qualification that not only tests academic standards but also introduces young people to the invaluable skills associated with managing personal time, academic commitments, and extracurricular goals as they start to think ahead to their futures. By taking the time to thoroughly consider their choice to take A Levels, students can begin to feel the importance of their qualifications and take personal responsibility for their own success.