GCE A-levels

When the General Certificate of Education Advanced levels, or GCE A-levels, were first introduced in 1951, they were hailed as the “golden standard” in British education. And indeed today they still enjoy wide recognition and respect as benchmarks in a student’s secondary education. More than 850, 000 students around the world (according the most recent available statistics from 2015) sit the GCE A-levels every year, all vying for grades to secure a place at a university.

The GCE A-levels are the standard entry requirements for a student who is applying for a place at a UK university and generally most students sit for at least 3 A-levels, while the high-flyers typically do 4 A-levels to secure places at the most competitive universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, as well as some of the more competitive degrees, such as Medicine and Architecture.

GCE A-levels are also highly regarded at US universities. In fact, there has been a distinctive trend over the last 5 years or so with US universities giving increasing credibility and recognition to GCE A-levels – normally in the form of college credits, saving both time and money for the prospective student. This may be explained, in part, by the significant increase in the number of UK students applying to US universities, especially to the Ivy League universities and very high ranked Liberal Arts Colleges, as an alternative to the UK universities. There are many cogent arguments for this rather major change: the US universities proffer a better value-for-money proposition and, more importantly, a better and more-rounded education, leading to ameliorated employment opportunities.

We at AGF Tutoring encourage all students to take at least one A-level in conjunction with the ACT or SAT Reasoning Test, and at least 2 SAT Subject Tests. In doing so, the student has a very strong application for the very best US universities and simultaneously very strong chances of attaining a place at a Russell League university in the UK, assuming, of course, the respective student’s performance at high school – the last three years of schooling – has been good as well. There are many former students from AGF Tutoring who can corroborate the above. In short, we strongly urge all students to seriously consider sitting A-levels, the ideal time being from 9th or 10th grade.

For a preliminary overview of the GCE A-level process please book your free introductory session.