Following World War II, the General Certificate of Education (GCE) was established to standardize education exams in England and Wales. This was part of the Education Act of 1943 that was designed to provide a uniform secondary education system. The act also established a three-tiered school system of grammar schools, technical schools, and secondary modern schools (now simply referred to as secondary schools). The GCE was meant to help determine preparedness for university courses and originally comprised of two levels: “O” or Ordinary Levels and “A” or Advanced Levels.
The O-Level exams are the first GCE exams students are required to take and typically do so at the age of sixteen. One of the purposes of the O-Level exam is to determine the student’s readiness for more advanced, or A-Level, courses. Initially, O-Level exams were simply graded on a “pass” or “fail,” but later this was changed to numbers 1-9 from the Joint Matriculation Board (a board representing several northern universities), and from 1975 with letters A-F and U (Unclassified) that was universal. In the lettering system, A-D represented passing scores while F and U were fails. Eventually, the F was dropped so that U represents a failing score.
Additionally, students had the option of taking the less-rigorous Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE). The CSE was designed for less-academically inclined pupils who perhaps did not have the desire to go on to university. The range of courses that qualified for CSE was broader than O-Levels and included many trade subjects, enabling students to leave secondary school and enter a profession. Once comprehensive schools began to replace secondary modern schools, students were able to take a combination of CSE and O-Level Exams.
In 1988, the British government made several changes to the exam system in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The O-Level and CSE Boards were instead replaced with the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). As with the prior exam system, GCSE exams are done by individual subject and are taken at the age of sixteen, typically over Year 9 and Year 10. The combination of the two exams meant GCSE exams covered a much wider number of courses whether students intended to go to university or into the workforce. Some more changes were made in 1994 when the A* grade was added on top of the A and by 2017 the letter grades were done away with in England in favor of numerical grades 1-9 (9 being the best) and still retaining the “U” failing grade, while Wales and Northern Ireland continue to use letters.
Past the GCSE there are the A-Levels. These are typically advanced courses that students take during their first year of sixth form. Students may take anywhere from 3-5 A-Levels during the first year and 3 during the second year. A-Levels were introduced in 1951 and were designed to encourage students to concentrate on a smaller number of subject areas that they might want to study in university. Grades at the time the exams were introduced were A, B, C, D, E, O, and Fail. Several changes have been made to the grading system over the years to address criticisms.
By 1989, Advanced Supplementary exams were also introduced to provide a wider range of subjects to sixth form students. AS exams are taken in addition to A-Levels, and a typical student might take three A-Levels and one AS-Level. A-Level courses for years were modular, which meant students could re-sit a course prior to the exam if they didn’t do well enough in the subject. Under David Cameron’s government, this scheme was changed to a more linear style where students take the A-Levels at the end of two years regardless of performance in that class during the form. The A-Level exams then become the main determiners of performance and critics have pointed out that the new scheme has largely made AS-Level courses redundant. It’s also important to write my essay.
In the end, A-Level grades are necessary if one plans to go to the university, as simply completing the high school diploma will not be enough for most schools. It remains unseen what reforms the British government will make to the educational system in the future as an ever-changing world puts more pressure on countries to compete in more in-demand subjects such as science, math, and technology.
