What is GCE?

I am trying to sign up to an Edxecel private course. I want to do research though. When i went to their hand book i saw this.

Advanced Level Qualifications
Advanced level qualifications are demanding courses. They typically require two years full-time study after GCSE. Good results in these qualifications provide an effective way of entering higher education or a profession. Schools and colleges usually expect students to have obtained grades A* - C in several subjects at GCSE before taking an Advanced level course.

There are two types of Advanced level qualifications:

* GCE (Advanced Subsidiary or Advanced). These cover the traditional 'A level' subjects: humanities, sciences, social sciences, business, arts, languages, maths and so on.
* VCE (Advanced Subsidiary, Advanced or Double Award) Also known as 'Vocational A levels', these new qualifications have replaced Advanced GNVQs. They cover work-related subjects such as tourism, hospitality, engineering and healthcare.

Advanced Subsidiary courses consist of 3 units, Advanced courses have 6 units and usually take two years to complete. For really in-depth learning you can undertake a 12 unit VCE (Double Award) in one subject or, if you are taking an Advanced GCE, you can take the Advanced Extension Awards available in a range of subjects. It is possible to combine GCE subjects with VCE courses. Students are encouraged to broaden their learning experience by mixing academic and vocational courses.

Wtf does that mean? I'm lost. Can I do A level or an A level equvilant course. Is it going to take me 2 years?

When ever i try to phone them they keep telling me to use the handbook.

Does anyone know about this? Here is the website for the handbook
http://www.edexcel.org.uk/studying/academic/options/

Reply 1

becky.fm

GCE is the name for A Level :smile:

Advanced Subsidary = AS, Advanced = A2. Most A Levels take 3 years to complete, but thats with 5 hours teaching time (apart from general studies, critical thinking) and however much homework is set. :biggrin:

GCE is one type of A Level, whereas VCE (e.g. Travel + Tourism) is the other type, the most common i think is GCE (e.g. Geography, Maths, Biology) :p:

Reply 2

Revd. Mike

3 years? it's more traditonal to do it in two, AS followed by A2.

GCE is general certificate of education, otherwise known as an A level, VCE is the same but "vocational".

Reply 3

michaelbenson

I always thought that an A-Level was composed of traditionally two years. One for each segment of the course (AS+A2). Also, perhaps this is just my College, but instead of having 5 hours of each of our chosen subjects, we end up walking away with just 4. And ridiculous breaks and gaps throughout our timetables :frown:

Reply 4

kellywood_5

What exactly are you confused about? An A-level is made up of 2 parts, AS level (Advanced Subsidiary) and A2. Each part takes a year to complete, so you can either study for a year and get an AS level or study for 2 years and get a full A-level. If you do the full A-level, your AS is worth 50% of your final grade. A-levels are available in academic subjects, but you can also take VCEs in more vocational subjects that have more of a coursework element.

Reply 5

Xrypto

Probbary another example of Edexhell trying to confuse all of us. lol

Reply 6

anon53

Most A Levels take 3 years to complete

Perhaps that should read 2 years - 1 year for AS, 1 year for A2

It is 4 hours per week for my school as well (except Double Award ICT - worth 2 A-Levels - which is 8 hours per week