03 September 2013

Dear Parents of A-Level students,

As you may be aware, Edexcel has been discussing changes in the A-Level exam system since early this year, but schools were not clearly briefed. We have been in constant contact with British Council, Dhaka and Edexcel, but only in an email received on 02 Sep 2013 (evening) did the British Council update us. To summarise, Edexcel is offering the following choices to the A-Level students:

1. GCE A Level (conducted by Edexcel, regulated by Ofqual, the UK government regulator)

Or

2. International Advanced Level (IAL, conducted by Edexcel, regulated by Pearson)

More fully,

GCE A Level is the current curriculum which will be offered in May-June session only. There will be no January 2014 exam. And at SJWS we have decided to follow the current GCE A-level and will only be registering students from the school for the May-June exam. Upon completion a British Certificate will be awarded.

OR

Students who have banked GCE units up to June 2013 and who MUST complete their A level courses in January 2014 must use the transitional unit codes in Business Studies, Economics, Mathematics, English Literature, Psychology and Religious Studies with appropriate cash-in codes. The examinations will be based on the current GCE 2008 specifications. The award will be IAL.

Students planning to complete their A levels in June 2014 will no longer be able to sit for an exam in January 2014, but they'll still be able to complete their AS/A level in June 2014.                                                                                                                                       P.T.O

For any further clarifications, please feel free to contact us, the local British Council, or visit the following links.

http://www.edexcel.com/international/qualifications/Pages/gce-consultation.aspx

http://ofqual.gov.uk/news/ofqual-publishes-a-level-reform-correspondence/

Sincerely