Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of proposals to change AS levels on broadening access for students to Russell Group universities.

Over 80% of students with two or more A levels go on to higher education [1] , and yet many do not have the skills they need for degree-level study. Research by Cambridge Assessment [2] found that over 50% of lecturers think that new undergraduates are not well prepared for degree-level study.

By removing the unnecessary external assessment in year 12 and giving students the opportunity to develop greater intellectual maturity across a full two-year A level course, for example by making stronger links between topics, we are supporting students to develop the skills they need for university.

Schools should continue to support students to take the qualifications that are right for them. The AS level qualification will remain available to students wanting to add breadth to their programmes of study. And it will remain possible for students to take the AS level qualification before making firm decisions about their A level subjects.

[1] 2012 Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record dataset, matched onto 2010 KS5 database.

[2] Irenka Suto, Cambridge Assessment (April 2012), What are the impacts of qualifications for 16 to 19 year olds on higher education? A survey of 633 university lecturers
http://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/images/116010-cambridge-assessment-he-research-survey-of-lecturers-executive-summary.pdf