pass at A level

wendyl1967

My son is at college. He said if you get an E at A level it is still considered a pass. Is this true? I know it is a C at GCSE so I was surprised. thanks

peachyprice

Your son it correct, any grade up to an E is a pass and is worth 40 UCAS points. It's a G for GCSE, I don't know why you thought it was only up to level C?

ilikewatch

As far as I'm aware any grade other than "U" is a pass for either GCSE or A level. However, most future employers will specifically ask for passes at grade C or above.

wendyl1967

I just always thought a C at GCSE was a pass and any other grade an employer wasn't interested in. I thought you did not even bother to put the others on a cv. I just assumed an A level was the same. Thanks for your replies.

want-it-all

For the purposes of GCSEs and A-Levels, a 'pass' just means 'not a fail', i.e. not a 'U'.

This is how so many colleges can boast that 99% (or even 100%) of their students 'passed' their A-Levels in any given year.

The benchmark of a 'good' pass is a C, though.

Most - though by no means not all - university courses require several C+ A-Level grades (if A-Levels are the qualification in question, bearing in mind that there are other ways to enter). For competitive and/or rigorous courses, as well as most courses overall at 'top' universities, AAA or even AAAA requirements are not unusual.

thatlemming

Technically yes, but it's a pretty worthless pass.

wendyl1967

yeah it's A levels that I was confused about.

Molly41

Those 40 UCAS points could make or break a university place!

Callie22

Any grade at GCSE from A* to G is a pass - U is 'ungraded', so considered a fail, as is an X, which means that you were not present for the exam. However, most colleges, universities and employers set the bar at A* to C to consider the grade a 'pass', and generally expect 5 A* to C GCSEs (and colleges often set more specific requirements for the subjects students want to study at A-Level, for example a lot of places will ask for a minimum of a .

For A Level, the passing grades are A* to E (A* only at A-Level, not AS). There are no grades below an E, except U which is again an 'ungraded' fail. You used to be able to decline U grades so they didn't appear on your certificate and you didn't have put them on your UCAS form, but I don't think that's the case any more.

wendyl1967

your replies have been really helpful. I hadn't realised that you used points to get into university (I didn't go!) My son is only in year 12 but he will have to start applying this October. I have looked at the ucas points calculater so it makes sense now. I love this site for getting advice.

Svenena

wendyl1967 wrote: »

your replies have been really helpful. I hadn't realised that you used points to get into university (I didn't go!) My son is only in year 12 but he will have to start applying this October. I have looked at the ucas points calculater so it makes sense now. I love this site for getting advice.

It depends on the university - some will ask for x number of UCAS points, others will ask for specific grades, eg BBB or above. Or possibly a combination of the two, eg x number of points, including two B's. Have a look at some of the courses on UCAS and some university websites to get a feel for things.