How will the new A level reforms affect 2017 entry?

username2190247

As you know the new reforms mean there are no more AS exams and most subjects have become a 2 year course with all exams taken at the end of the 2 years. So how will this impact Universities and their selection process, because for the 2016/2017 application cycle, the new year 13s (this year's year 12) will not have AS grades, just predictions. So a lot of the predictions could end up being inaccurate or inflated.

How will this affect selection for 2017 entry? Will Universities be more lenient towards students who are maybe 1 grade off their requirements but have already achieved those grades (gap year students). I,e say medicine, would a medical school consider a gap year student with AAB or would they just make offers based on the predictions of the new year 13s?

Reply 1

KingAuthor

12

Ive been told they still look at your AS exam grades and your targets.

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Reply 2

username2190247

OP

11

Original post by KingAuthor

Ive been told they still look at your AS exam grades and your targets.

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But there aren't AS grades anymore? All exams for A level subjects are done at the end of year 13.

Reply 3

KingAuthor

12

Original post by ASTK98

But there aren't AS grades anymore? All exams for A level subjects are done at the end of year 13.

I've been told we still do the exams and achieve four AS grades, whichever subject you choose to drop (if you're doing 4 or more) you will gain a singular AS qualification for it. If you carry on the other 3 subjects, the AS grades will be scrapped and you will do all the exams at the end of year 13 and will gain a full A level qualification from that.

Reply 4

gdunne42

21

Original post by ASTK98

As you know the new reforms mean there are no more AS exams and most subjects have become a 2 year course with all exams taken at the end of the 2 years. So how will this impact Universities and their selection process, because for the 2016/2017 application cycle, the new year 13s (this year's year 12) will not have AS grades, just predictions. So a lot of the predictions could end up being inaccurate or inflated.

How will this affect selection for 2017 entry? Will Universities be more lenient towards students who are maybe 1 grade off their requirements but have already achieved those grades (gap year students). I,e say medicine, would a medical school consider a gap year student with AAB or would they just make offers based on the predictions of the new year 13s?

AS exams are still available even though the result doesn't count towards the final grade of a reformed A level. Some schools are entering candidates for them in some or all of their subjects and universities like Cambridge have encouraged them to do so.

Where candidates don't have AS results, universities will rely on predictions, GCSE results and possibly a greater use of entry tests to decide on the offers they make.

Nobody knows for certain what the impact of these reforms will be in terms of results but you can be sure that grade boundaries will be used to ensure broadly similar outcomes in terms of the number/spread of grades awarded.

How lenient universities are in terms of entry requirements varies from course to course and year to year but medicine is so over subscribed I highly doubt the entry requirements will drop.

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How will the new A level reforms affect 2017 entry?

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