AS Level vs A Level: How the Exams Differ

An AS Level covers roughly the first half of an A Level: it is usually studied over one year, examined on that first-year content and graded A to E, with no A*. A full A Level normally takes two years and is graded A* to E. Whether the AS counts towards the A Level depends on the board. With Cambridge International and Pearson Edexcel International A Levels it can; with UK boards such as AQA it is a separate qualification, and the A Level is examined at the end.

So the useful question is not only what an AS Level is, but how your own board treats it. Below is how three boards used by schools in Africa treat it, followed by what the differences mean for planning.

AS and A Level at a glance, board by board

Cambridge International: three routes to an A Level

Cambridge describes its International A Level as typically a two-year course and its AS Level as typically one year, with the AS syllabus content making up half of the A Level. Its official qualification page sets out three routes:

1. AS Level only. Take the AS papers and stop there; the AS is a qualification in its own right.
2. Staged. Take the AS in one exam series and complete the A Level in a later one. AS marks can be carried forward to the full A Level twice within a 13-month period. This route is not possible in every subject, and AS results in language syllabuses cannot be carried forward.
3. All at once. Take every A Level paper in the same exam series, usually at the end of the course.

Cambridge holds AS and A Level exams twice a year, in June and November, with results issued in August and January. Chemistry 9701 shows how the two halves fit together: the AS consists of Papers 1, 2 and 3, which together make up 50% of the A Level, and the full A Level adds Paper 4 (structured questions on A Level content, 38.5%) and Paper 5 (planning, analysis and evaluation, 11.5%).

Pearson Edexcel International A Level: the AS is the first set of units

Pearson's International A Levels are modular. In Chemistry, for example, the International Advanced Subsidiary is the first half of the qualification: three units that can be awarded as a qualification on their own or contribute 50% towards the International A Level. The full International A Level adds three more units, so a student must complete all six. According to Pearson's International A Level page, exams run in January, May–June and October, although not every unit is available in every series. Any unit can be resat, and if a unit is taken more than once, the better of the two most recent attempts counts.

One grading detail is worth knowing early. In Pearson's International A Level Chemistry, an A* requires an A overall plus at least 90% of the uniform marks available across the second-year units combined, so the A* depends on the second-year units as well as on the overall grade.

AQA and other UK boards: two separate qualifications

UK A levels from boards such as AQA are linear, and the AS is a separate qualification rather than the first half of the A level. AQA's Chemistry specifications show what that means in practice:

• AS Chemistry (7404) is its own qualification, designed to be taken over one or two years, with two papers of 1 hour 30 minutes sat in the same May–June series.
• A-level Chemistry (7405) is awarded on three papers of 2 hours each, and all of them must be taken in May–June of a single year.
• The AS papers test a subset of the A-level content at a lower level of difficulty, so the two courses can be taught together, but the A-level grade rests on the A-level papers alone.

Whether a school enters students for the AS at the end of the first year is the school's decision. On a UK linear A level, the final papers carry the whole grade either way.

Grades at AS and at A Level

All three boards grade the full A Level from A* to E and the AS from A to E, so an A is the highest grade available at AS. On Cambridge's staged route and on Pearson's modular route, a strong AS also banks half of the marks behind the final grade; on a UK linear A level it does not, although it still gives the student and the school evidence of progress.

Should you sit AS exams?

Where the board allows it, sitting the AS at the end of the first year has clear advantages. Cambridge notes that many schools use the AS to give students feedback on their strengths and weaknesses before they complete the full A Level, and on a staged or modular route it takes half of the assessment out of the final year. The trade-off is that the first year then ends in exams that count, and Cambridge's carry-forward limits mean the AS result has to be used within a set period. Three questions usually settle it:

• Which board and which route does your school use for each of your subjects?
• Does your subject allow the staged route? Not every Cambridge subject does.
• When are your university applications due, and which results will they rely on?

Students in Nigeria who are planning around JAMB Direct Entry and UCAS will find the Cambridge series dates set side by side on our A Level page for Nigeria. For help with a subject on any board, our A Level tutoring page explains how lessons follow your own specification, paper by paper.

Frequently asked questions