General Certificate of Education
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The General Certificate of Education or GCE is a secondary-level academic qualification, which is used in Britain as well as in some former British colonies. It is often divided into two levels: Ordinary level (O-level) (replaced in 1986 by the GCSE in certain countries) and Advanced level (A-Level), although other categories exist. Since 1999 when it was introduced, the Advanced Subsidiary level (AS-level) has also come into wider use. The qualifications are administered by examination boards.
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[edit] History
The GCE was originally introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1951, replacing the older School Certificate (SC) and Higher School Certificate (HSC). It was intended to cater for the increased range of subjects available to pupils since the raising of the school leaving age from 14 to 15 in 1947. The examinations were graded into ordinary level for 16-year-olds, and advanced level for 18-year-olds. There was also an intermediate level alternative ordinary level (AO-level) and a higher special paper (S-level).
O-level passes were at Grades 1 through 6, with Grades 7 through 9 being a fail. Most examination boards later changed this to A, B and C passing grades. Grades D, E and U (Unclassified) were a fail. (The exception being London University who awarded grades A, C and E passing grades. Grades F, H and U (Unclassified) were a fail.) A-levels were graded A-E with "U" (ungraded), being a fail.
[edit] O-level
See Also Ordinary Level
In 1988, O-level qualifications were replaced by a new system, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). This meant that the final O-level examinations were taken in 1987, while the curriculum for the new system was introduced in 1986. However the O-level is still used in many former British colonies, such as Bangladesh, Ghana, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago and some parts of Britain continued to use O-levels for some time after 1988.
The Cambridge International Examinations board still offers O-level examinations. International GCE O-levels are offered across many countries in the world through the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and Edexcel Examination board. GCE O-Levels are offered across around 200+ countries in the world, and in June 2005, 12 million candidates registered for CIE examinations across the world.
[edit] Worldwide use
Increasingly in Singapore, students who perform well in school are given the option to bypass the O-levels, and take the A-levels instead at the age of 18, in a scheme dubbed the integrated programme (also known as the through-train programme).
In Malta, the British examinations are still very popular, though their popularity has been in decline since the introduction of a similar examination scheme by the University of Malta.
In Hong Kong, students wishing to attend university in the United Kingdom usually take the British examinations in addition to Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE), despite the equivalent gradings granted by UK universities between the two sets of examinations, for grades attained in the British examination tend to be much better because GCEAL's A percentage is even larger than HKAL's A to C percentages. Hence studying in the United Kingdom is a favourable choice if the student can't be admitted to any of HK universities. For those HK students taking GCE AL, HKU needs at least 4A for their entrance. However, for British people, HKU just treats the grades of GCE AL and HKAL more or less the same. The English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong runs schools that follow the British patterned education, and students take GCSE in Years 10–11 and AS/A Level exams in Years 12–13, although the schools are transitioning to the IB Diploma.
Near every HK people who wants to study in the UK takes GCE AL maths. It is because even those who achieves E in f5 level HKCEE maths can also score an A without any study. Every student gets an A in GCE AL further maths provided that the person can get a F or above in HKALE pure maths. Therefore these two subjects are mostly abused by hk students and all HK universities do not count them for student's entrance.
In many Asian countries like India and Nepal A-Levels are becoming more and more popular as opposed to the traditional 10 plus 2s which worked instead of the A-Levels. The main reason for the increasing popularity of A-Levels in economic poor countries is the emigrating youth to Western European and North American countries.
[edit] Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka GCE(O/L) and GCE(A/L) examinations are conducted by the examinations department of the government of Sri Lanka. The GCE(O/L) is normally conducted in the month of December and GCE (A/L)s are conducted in the month of August. They are conducted on an island-wide examination centers on same time. Examination entrance is restricted by a minimal number of formal school going years and laboratory field work. The majority of candidates enter the exams via their respective schools, while candidates who finished schools can also apply as a private candidates.
The O/L examination is regarded as the qualification examination for starting on GCE(A/L). Specialization streaming is depended on the grades obtained for subjects in the O/L. The country's reputed schools admit students to their A/L depending on the O/L grades.
The Sri Lankan University Grants commission determines the cutoff points for the selection of students to the Sri Lankan universities according to the grade points obtained in the A/L examinations, on a Z-score system.[1]
[edit] See also
- Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE)
- Advanced Level (UK)
- Ordinary Level
- O.W.L. (a fictional parody)
[edit] References
- ^ The University Admissions Policy For Local Candidates. UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION - SRI LANKA.. UGC. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
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