Confused mature student

[Newlife]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me the difference between AS Level and A2 Level.I'm only familiar with A and AS Level.I also would like to take and AS Level in classical civilization,Is this acceptable for studying medicine?
Thank you
Newlife

[Martigan]

My understanding that the A levels and AS levels are stand alone exams/qualifications. Where as an A2 convers an AS level into an A-level. I'm not 100% sure you can do straight A-leves now, I think you now get an A level from taking the AS, and the A2.

Hopefully there is an ex or current teacher on here who can confirm/correct what I've said.

[Martigan]

Well Ive just pulled this off Wikkipedia

A levels were first introduced in 1951,[6] replacing the previous award, the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

In 1987 Advanced Supplementary levels (abbreviated as AS-level or A/S-level), worth half of a full A level, were introduced to encourage students to broaden their knowledge of other areas. These were of the same academic standard of a full A level (i.e. the topics were studied in the same amount of depth) but covered a narrower range of topics.[7]

The most recent changes to A levels began in 2000, when the government introduced Curriculum 2000 which split the A level into two parts, the AS (Advanced Subsidiary) and A2 examinations.[8] The former is generally taken in Year 12 (Year 13 in Northern Ireland) and the latter is generally taken in Year 13 (Year 14 in Northern Ireland). Satisfactory achievement in AS and A2 modules results in the award of an A level qualification. It is possible to sit only AS modules, in which case only an AS-level qualification would be gained; this is given half the number of points of a full A level on the UCAS tariff points system. Advanced Subsidiary levels differ from the previous Advanced Supplementary levels in that they cover the same breadth of the subject as in the full A level but in less depth. The old AS-levels were also not a prerequisite for the corresponding A level and were examined separately.

While an A level is a qualification in its own right, A levels are often the prerequisite for university-level study as well,[9] making them a de facto university entrance examination, though some universities also require applicants to take separate entrance examinations and the International Baccalaureate and European Baccalaureate are also accepted. Universities in the United Kingdom frequently demand that applicants achieve a minimum set of grades in A level examinations, or the equivalent in other examination systems, before accepting them. While the government has rejected plans to introduce an English Baccalaureate[10] modelled on the International Baccalaureate, it has introduced a Welsh Baccalaureate studies in Wales, based on the French Baccalaureate; but it has yet to be introduced in the rest of the United Kingdom despite favourable comments by the Welsh Assembly to the British Government.