A - LEVEL EXAM INFORMATION

A Level Exams – Format
Generally there are three modules (examined or coursework) of equal weighting in the AS course, and another three to complete the A2 course. However, there are a few exceptions where modules have different weightings or where an AS does not have a modular structure, for example, Critical Thinking. See individual subjects for more details.

Entries
There are two exam sessions each year, in January and May/June. About three months before the start of the session, exam entries are submitted to the examinations officer, usually via the subject teacher. The school pays for initial entries, but students are expected to pay, in advance, for any resits - a fee of £13 per module. At the same time as being entered for modules, students have to be entered for AS or A2 certification once they are ready to ‘cash in’ their modules for an A level qualification. Students receive a Statement of Entry listing all their entries for modules and for certification before they are sent to the exam boards. It is the student’s responsibility to check that all details on this statement are correct and that there are no omissions. If so, they should talk to the examinations officer as soon as possible. Mistakes do happen, but they are easily put right at this stage, whereas mistakes discovered once entries have been sent to the exam boards are expensive and sometimes impossible to put right.

Timetables/ Clashes
About this time, copies of the exam timetable are put up in each form room. Students should not be concerned if they notice that they have an exam clash. A month before the exam session begins, students receive their individual timetable, which they should keep safe. This will show how clashes have been resolved. Generally, exams in the same subject will be sat one after another, whereas a clash between exams in two different subjects will be resolved by moving one examination to the afternoon (or to the morning for an afternoon clash). Students whose exams have been moved will be kept in isolation in between the exams.

Results
Interpreting results is not always easy for students, firstly because grade boundaries vary from subject to subject, but also because of the way raw marks are adjusted in order to standardise them. This results in what is known as the UMS mark, which is the one that counts. Students should keep in mind that ultimately it is the marks achieved for individual modules that are important, not the grades, since the AS and A2 grades are based on the total of the module marks. Subject teachers or Heads of Departments should be able to help students interpret their results in each subject.

Post Results Services
Priority Photocopy: For a fee of £6, students can request a photocopy of their examination script. This service is only available for a week after results are out and the script should arrive within a couple of weeks. Its purpose is to enable students and teachers to check whether they wish to request a remark, when results have been unexpectedly low.

Remark: This is an expensive service (£30 per module), so students would do well to request a priority photocopy first in order to check that there are grounds for their remark request. There is plenty of time to do this first, since the remark service is available for about a month after results come out. They should be aware that results can go down, as well as up, following a remark, and there is no subsequent appeal. Hence, they are advised not to ask for a remark if their final mark is just over a grade boundary. The majority of remark requests are unsuccessful, particularly in some subjects. Students are best to take advice from their teachers on this issue. In successful cases, the fee is rebated.

Return of Original Script: For a fee of £6 students can request their script back. The service is available for three weeks after results and its purpose is to allow students wishing to resit a module the opportunity to get feedback from teachers on their first attempt. No original scripts will be dispatched by the exam boards until the deadline for remarks is past, so students tend not to receive scripts for at least six weeks.

Resits and Decline of Grade
There is one important situation which all students should be aware of. If a student has gained AS certification at the end of year 12, this means that the AS modules have been cashed in, and final marks have been accepted. In other words, if individual AS modules are resat, they cannot change the AS mark, although they can count towards the A2 mark. This is a complicated rule! The important point is that if a student is going to stop a subject at AS level, and they wish to resit a module, they must ask the examinations officer to decline their AS grade within two weeks of getting their results. If they are definitely continuing the subject to A2, there is no need to take any action, even if the wish to resit a module.

top of page