Live Life Team
AS stands for Advanced Subsidiary, which means that this qualification isn’t as high as an A level, but it is higher than a GCSE, which could be useful for you if you feel that stepping straight up to an A level could be too much of a step and could leave you floundering. This is something you can consider after year 11 finishes, but it is worth knowing about now so that you can be thinking about what you want to do.
Most subjects that are available at A level are also available as an AS level course, but that’s not to say that all colleges will offer all subjects. It will depend a lot on interest from pupils, as they cannot run the course for just one person, and it will also depend largely on the availability of tutors as they may well be busy with other courses.
It is basically half an A level, so you would sit a proper exam at the end of the first year, rather than a mock, and get a qualification based on your performance. It would be too expensive for schools and colleges to put all students into AS level exams at the end of the first year, so for most people going on to complete a full A level a mock is all you get at the end of the first year. You do need to actually make an agreement with the college that you are only going to do the AS level.
