Curriculum

Core Studies

The number of lessons you will have varies depending on the courses you have chosen since it can range from 12 to 24 periods per fortnight.  Students are expected to put in at least five hours of private study per subject, per week.  Level 2 courses require significant further directed study time to complete the course.

A Level Courses

Most A levels are based on four units.  Two of these units will make up the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level in the first year.  The other two are known as ‘A2’ and will be taken in the second year.  Some courses will be assessed as modules during the year, whilst others will have an end-of-course assessment.  ‘Pass grades’ at A level go from A to E.

The structure of these courses allows you to make choices about which subject to study, to which level and for how long.  For example, you could:

• choose four subjects in Year 12 and take all of them to A2 level over two years;
• choose four subjects in Year 12, stop one at AS level after one year and take the others to A2 level;
• choose two or three subjects to study for two years and study one or two AS levels in each of Year 12 and 13 (subject to timetable constraints).

Should it be necessary, you may have the opportunity to re-sit a limited range of GCSE subjects alongside your Advanced level course.