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Advanced Courses

One and Two Years

General A Levels are available in a wide range of subjects. Our Advanced Level programme includes traditional subjects and subjects you will not have studied before. Advanced Levels are the traditional route to University or other Higher Education.

AS Levels are the first part of a full A Level. You will gain AS Level qualifications after one year. AS Levels are set at a standard between GCSE and A2. They also have less content than the A2 modules.

A2 Levels are the second and more difficult part of the full A Level course. This system enables you to take a wider range of subjects in your first year. When you discover which subjects you enjoy most and are best at, you will be in a better position to choose the subjects which you will take at A2 Level.

BTEC qualifications involve the study of particular fields such as Business, Sport, IT, Drama or Performing Arts. Much of the work you do will relate theory to real-life activities that are carried out in organisations working in your chosen vocational area.

Double A Levels and BTEC qualifications are made up of a number of units of study. In some of these subjects you can choose to study six units (National Award or A Level) or twelve units (National Certificate or Double A Level) or eighteen units (National Diploma). This gives you the flexibility to include these subjects as a single option within an A Level programme or, if you feel yourself to be committed to a particular career direction, to take the equivalent of two or three A Levels in one subject.

Applied A Levels are A Level Courses which have a vocational focus and which are offered in a subject where a general A Level is also available (e.g. AS Business, AS Applied Business). Students are advised to read the course descriptions carefully to decide which would be most suitable for them.