For information on the approval of qualifications for funding in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see the links to DCSF, DIUS, DCELLS, DELNI and DENI below.
When undertaking a qualification that does not appear on the governments' lists as eligible for funding for specific age ranges, users must be aware of legal requirements. Not all qualifications are suitable for all age ranges.
This qualification may form part of the entry requirements for progression to higher education or employment.
All AS and A2 units are assessed through independent assessment and holistic assessment is addressed within A2 units.
The qualification comprises six units and contains an Advanced Subsidiary subset of three AS units. The Advanced Subsidiary GCE is the first half of the GCE course and consists of Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3. It may be awarded as a discrete qualification or contribute 50 per cent of the total Advanced GCE marks.
The A2, the second half of the Advanced GCE, comprises the other 50 per cent of the total Advanced GCE marks.
The full Advanced GCE award consists of the three AS units (Units 1, 2 and 3), plus three A2 units (Units 4, 5 and 6). Students wishing to take the full Advanced GCE must, therefore, complete all six units.
The structure of this qualification allows teachers to construct a course of study which can be taught and assessed as:
- distinct modules of teaching and learning, related to units of assessment taken at appropriate stages during the course
- a linear course which is assessed in its entirety at the end
- a fully contextualised course, for example, by using the storylines provided in the support materials
- a fully concept-led approach, for example, by starting the course by looking at the structure of biological molecules
- an integrated course of a mix of concept and context approaches, weighted according to the needs of the students.