The Student Room Group

New AS Reforms

Hey guys, I don't really understand the new A-level reforms - my teachers say that for some subjects such as history and art, they do not count (depending on board) - I will get an AS grade and a predicted grade but apparently this grade won't matter because I'll be re-doing it (in art,this year basically counts as a mock)

What I don't understand is AS grades and predicted grades for applications to universities as we need AS grades?

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In short; we are well and truely fked.
If you continue with your AS then your AS grade will not count.
If you decide to drop the subject then it will count.
The grades you get however will determine your predicted grades for UCAS depending on how your school works
If you continue you will sit the AS again alongside A2 in year 13 - I think!
(edited 7 years ago)
Yes. True. AS level and A level are now separate qualifications.
So what this means is that, for reformed subjects i.e Psychology, History, Chemistry etc those sitting these subjects, planning to take them as full A level qualifications would only have mock exams this year as AS and A2 are no longer modular but linear. This means all of your real exams for the reformed subjects will take place in year 13. Your mock grades will only count to your predicted grades for when applying to university. In order to apply for uni, you need predicted grades unless you decide to apply after year 13 with your full A level results. So your mock grades do not count to your final grades; they are however there to aid teachers with deciding predicted grades for uni applications and for universities to see the academic abilities of students.
An example, If someone got E grades at their mock exams for History, Chemistry and Physics- they may be predicted one grade higher concerning their overall grade after year 13 so DDD . The EEE grades would not count to their real a level history, chemistry or physics a level qualifications meaning in their real exam, if they decided to work hard could receive ABB grades overall as those E grades do not count to anything but are merely mocks for predictions. So when applying to uni, they would get offers based on the DDD grade prediction.
In this case, if the person did do better than DDD prediction, receiving AAB or ABB the person could apply next year for better offers or 'better' universities or they could go through adjustment. Adjustment is where you've achieved higher than your predicted grades and you call universities to see if they have any spaces for the particular course you're interested in.
Hope this helps and makes sense, please feel free to ask any more questions x
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by Cherry82
Yes. True. AS level and A level are now separate qualifications.
So what this means is that, for reformed subjects i.e Psychology, History, Chemistry etc those sitting these subjects, planning to take them as full A level qualifications would only have mock exams this year as AS and A2 are no longer modular but linear. This means all of your real exams for the reformed subjects will take place in year 13. Your mock grades will only count to your predicted grades for when applying to university. In order to apply for uni, you need predicted grades unless you decide to apply after year 13 with your full A level results. So your mock grades do not count to your final grades; they are however there to aid teachers with deciding predicted grades for uni applications and for universities to see the academic abilities of students.
An example, If someone got E grades at their mock exams for History, Chemistry and Physics- they may be predicted one grade higher concerning their overall grade after year 13 so DDD . The EEE grades would not count to their real a level history, chemistry or physics a level qualifications meaning in their real exam, if they decided to work hard could receive ABB grades overall as those E grades do not count to anything but are merely mocks for predictions. So when applying to uni, they would get offers based on the DDD grade prediction.
In this case, if the person did do better than DDD prediction, receiving AAB or ABB the person could apply next year for better offers or 'better' universities or they could go through adjustment. Adjustment is where you've achieved higher than your predicted grades and you call universities to see if they have any spaces for the particular course you're interested in.
Hope this helps and makes sense, please feel free to ask any more questions x


Okay thank you very much! My teachers have told me this but what about our actual AS grades? Do we not submit them for UCAS too?
Original post by TSRMatt
Okay thank you very much! My teachers have told me this but what about our actual AS grades? Do we not submit them for UCAS too?


My pleasure :smile:
For old and new subjects, you'd still receive predicted grades from your teachers. The only difference is with your subjects that have not reformed yet that have real AS exams, this will count to your final grade. So if you can, smash these.
If someone received E in AS maths that hasn't reformed yet, they would have to re-sit their AS exams if they wanted a higher overall grade such as A. Luckily though with modular subjects you won't have to sit all of the papers again, so you could re-sit the paper you did bad on unlike linear subjects where you'd have to resit even the papers you did well on to receive a higher grade at A level (After year 13).
But to answer your question yes, you'd have to declare all of your AS grades on UCAS. People each year try not to but I've heard how if someone gets caught doing this and leaving this information out- it could result to severe penalties such as being disqualified from applying and having applications removed, no longer being considered. For mock grades on the other hand, I'm not entirely sure. My guess would be that universities may still like to know these too just to have a good idea of students, their academic profile and background. I may be wrong with this however I'm sure your teachers have this covered so please don't worry. Oh and thanks for following me :h:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Cherry82
Yes. True. AS level and A level are now separate qualifications.
So what this means is that, for reformed subjects i.e Psychology, History, Chemistry etc those sitting these subjects, planning to take them as full A level qualifications would only have mock exams this year as AS and A2 are no longer modular but linear. This means all of your real exams for the reformed subjects will take place in year 13. Your mock grades will only count to your predicted grades for when applying to university. In order to apply for uni, you need predicted grades unless you decide to apply after year 13 with your full A level results. So your mock grades do not count to your final grades; they are however there to aid teachers with deciding predicted grades for uni applications and for universities to see the academic abilities of students.
An example, If someone got E grades at their mock exams for History, Chemistry and Physics- they may be predicted one grade higher concerning their overall grade after year 13 so DDD . The EEE grades would not count to their real a level history, chemistry or physics a level qualifications meaning in their real exam, if they decided to work hard could receive ABB grades overall as those E grades do not count to anything but are merely mocks for predictions. So when applying to uni, they would get offers based on the DDD grade prediction.
In this case, if the person did do better than DDD prediction, receiving AAB or ABB the person could apply next year for better offers or 'better' universities or they could go through adjustment. Adjustment is where you've achieved higher than your predicted grades and you call universities to see if they have any spaces for the particular course you're interested in.
Hope this helps and makes sense, please feel free to ask any more questions x

Thanks for taking the time to type this out! The new reforms are very confusing... I'm doing Biology Geography and Chemistry (not sure about Chem yet) and I'm not sure if I'm doing AS levels in these or just mocks.

When applying to Uni, the only REAL grades universities can rely on are GCSEs, so does this make them more important? Also, I have the chance to do 4 subjects rather than 3 (if I get mostly As at GCSE, predicted 8 As and 3 A*s so shouldn't be too difficult) so should I take this opportunity or just stick with 3 and do the EPQ for something extra?
Original post by romansholiday
When applying to Uni, the only REAL grades universities can rely on are GCSEs, so does this make them more important?

AS grades are still considered more important than GCSEs. I count my lucky stars that my sixth form is still doing AS exams, even though they won't actually contribute to the final grades. For those who do not have this luxury, then GCSEs naturally become more important. I strongly advise anyone whose sixth form does not offer AS exams to apply to sit them at another centre as an independent candidate.
Original post by romansholiday
Also, I have the chance to do 4 subjects rather than 3 (if I get mostly As at GCSE, predicted 8 As and 3 A*s so shouldn't be too difficult) so should I take this opportunity or just stick with 3 and do the EPQ for something extra?

I would imagine that 4 A levels are better than 3 A levels and an EPQ. I think you should do 4 subjects in your first year, then consider whether you think you could handle continuing with 4 in the second year, and if you can't do that then consider doing 3 and the EPQ, and if you can't do that then consider just doing 3. It should be remembered though that doing 4 A levels is like shooting yourself in the foot if it results in you getting lower results overall, no matter how slight. This is because just a few marks can be all it takes to secure an offer at university, or lose it.
Original post by romansholiday
Thanks for taking the time to type this out! The new reforms are very confusing... I'm doing Biology Geography and Chemistry (not sure about Chem yet) and I'm not sure if I'm doing AS levels in these or just mocks.

When applying to Uni, the only REAL grades universities can rely on are GCSEs, so does this make them more important? Also, I have the chance to do 4 subjects rather than 3 (if I get mostly As at GCSE, predicted 8 As and 3 A*s so shouldn't be too difficult) so should I take this opportunity or just stick with 3 and do the EPQ for something extra?


You're welcome :smile:
I know, trust me so many students find the new system for A levels confusing, even some teachers lol
For your subjects, if you're starting year 12 this year in September so September 2016, all of your subjects will be reformed.
Biology and Chemistry reformed in September 2015 and Geography reforms in September 2016. Meaning you will have no mixture of real and mock exams only mock exams in 2017. This isn't a bad thing- by September 2017 virtually all subjects including maths, further maths etc would be fully linear. With GCSEs yes and no. Your mock grades still matter as it says where you could be currently but it does appear that universities will heavily rely on your GCSEs to indicate to them your potential. This doesn't mean though that they would entirely focus on your GCSEs.
When Cambridge came to our school last year around December, they had said to students that since not every student is going to have actual AS results- they believe looking at GCSEs results would give them a better indication with telling someone's potential. I don't really understand this though. I get that it would be the only real grades everyone would have by year 12 however me personally, I believe even if someone did bad at GCSEs, it doesn't mean they do not have the potential to do well in A level. My intake on it is this, if you can- do well in your GCSEs and AS mocks, that would leave you in the best position. But to those whose GCSEs may not go as planned as it does happen, don't worry about this. Universities most likely won't turn down an application if your most current grades i.e mock exams show you do have the academic potential.

Regarding your options. It really does depend on what you believe, you'd feel most comfortable doing.
When I had started, I did four subjects unlike the majority in my school who did three. The advantage I had was, the subject I didn't like- I dropped but the others- even if they didn't like a subject and were struggling with it, they had no choice but to stick with the subject anyway. So if you're not sure about your subjects and whether or not you'd like doing them, if you have the opportunity maybe doing four is best as this allows you drop one while still having enough qualifications for when applying to uni.
At the same time, if your sure about your subjects, maybe taking three is best then doing an EPQ later. I now do three and I have to admit, I have more free periods unlike before when I did four which allows me to focus more on all three subjects. In addition doing an EPQ seems fun as I'm choosing my topic on what I'd like to do my qualification on, I'm meant to start mine this summer. You won't be losing out either way if you decided to do the EPQ or take four AS levels. In an EPQ, the highest grade is A* (70 tariff points) then A (60 tarriff points) in AS, A is the highest grade which is 60 tarriff points so EPQ qualifications are worth a little more. (Unless someone is taking 4 full a level qualifications) The only thing is that, if your school is like mine where they only allow year 13 students to take the EPQ qualification, it may be stressful for you during that year since for all your subjects, you'd be having your real exams on that same year. This is most of us now including me but one of my subjects are modular.
Hope that helped <3 Sorry for this super long response, tried to keep it as short as possible but failed miserably :redface:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Cherry82
X


Again, thanks for taking the time to give this explanation :smile: The teachers are still confused at my school, I ask them about the new reforms and they have no clue:s-smilie:

I'm just going to try and focus on my GCSEs right now. By the way, I remember my school saying that the EPQ (at my school) is done in Year 12 to avoid too much stress or something.
Original post by Cherry82
Yes. True. AS level and A level are now separate qualifications.
So what this means is that, for reformed subjects i.e Psychology, History, Chemistry etc those sitting these subjects, planning to take them as full A level qualifications would only have mock exams this year as AS and A2 are no longer modular but linear. This means all of your real exams for the reformed subjects will take place in year 13. Your mock grades will only count to your predicted grades for when applying to university. In order to apply for uni, you need predicted grades unless you decide to apply after year 13 with your full A level results. So your mock grades do not count to your final grades; they are however there to aid teachers with deciding predicted grades for uni applications and for universities to see the academic abilities of students.
An example, If someone got E grades at their mock exams for History, Chemistry and Physics- they may be predicted one grade higher concerning their overall grade after year 13 so DDD . The EEE grades would not count to their real a level history, chemistry or physics a level qualifications meaning in their real exam, if they decided to work hard could receive ABB grades overall as those E grades do not count to anything but are merely mocks for predictions. So when applying to uni, they would get offers based on the DDD grade prediction.
In this case, if the person did do better than DDD prediction, receiving AAB or ABB the person could apply next year for better offers or 'better' universities or they could go through adjustment. Adjustment is where you've achieved higher than your predicted grades and you call universities to see if they have any spaces for the particular course you're interested in.
Hope this helps and makes sense, please feel free to ask any more questions x


Thank you for explaining it better than I did!
So do we have to sit AS alongside A2 next year?
This is want is confusing me

Thanks in advance!
Original post by romansholiday
Again, thanks for taking the time to give this explanation :smile: The teachers are still confused at my school, I ask them about the new reforms and they have no clue:s-smilie:

I'm just going to try and focus on my GCSEs right now. By the way, I remember my school saying that the EPQ (at my school) is done in Year 12 to avoid too much stress or something.


My pleasure dear, always happy to help x
Yes, I was about to say this. At the moment your GCSEs should be your utmost priority, wish you all the best with your exams.
That's awesome. I wish our school did this too. It would have removed so pressure. :u:
Original post by rajneetk
Thank you for explaining it better than I did!
So do we have to sit AS alongside A2 next year?
This is want is confusing me

Thanks in advance!


You're welcome; Oh come on- your explanation got straight to the point. Lol mine on the other hand was an essay but I hope it helped.
Yes, so for your reformed subjects- you will sit AS & A2 next year in year 13. This summer, reformed subjects only have mock exams. I see, hope you understand this better now? x
Original post by Cherry82
You're welcome; Oh come on- your explanation got straight to the point. Lol mine on the other hand was an essay but I hope it helped.
Yes, so for your reformed subjects- you will sit AS & A2 next year in year 13. This summer, reformed subjects only have mock exams. I see, hope you understand this better now? x


Haha but yours was very detailed! :biggrin:
It did help though
Well I'm going to be under a lot of pressure then :colonhash:
But thank you once again!!
Original post by Cherry82
X


So say if you are doing one of the reformed linear A-levels, if you wanted to do it in year 12 can you or is it fixed and you have to do it in year 13?
Original post by SmallTown
So say if you are doing one of the reformed linear A-levels, if you wanted to do it in year 12 can you or is it fixed and you have to do it in year 13?


It depends. If you decide to do more than three AS levels in year 12, so four AS levels or five, then nothing is fixed as you have the option of dropping subjects before entering year 13. On the other hand, if you only do three, you won't have this option as 3 are the minimum requirements for when applying to university generally.

So say you studied four AS levels: Maths (not reformed yet) Further maths (not reformed yet) Film studies (not reformed yet) and then Physics (reformed). You could study any one of them until year 12 then drop one at the end to focus on 3 a levels if you wanted. If you dropped the physics that's reformed, you'd still receive points since AS is now a standalone qualification. So nothing is fixed unless you're only studying 3 AS levels in year 12, it's then you'd need to continue these 3 subjects unto year 13.
hey what happens if you get all U's in ur 3 AS levels does that mean u have to resit themm or?
I
Original post by amranhassan
hey what happens if you get all U's in ur 3 AS levels does that mean u have to resit themm or?


It means your screwed
Original post by Gnatt27
I

It means your screwed


lol u dont say, i just came back from holiday and collected them today, i have to retake the year right? i got to a 16-19 college

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