It's All a Dream d ream s. Am bitions

A Levels (Advanced Level)
A levels are tak en by p u p ils in their final tw o years of secondary 
e d u c a tio n . T hey a re n o t c o m p u lso ry b u t th ey a re n e c e ssa ry for 
anyone w ho w ants to go to university. Pupils stu d y for them d u rin g
years 12 and 13 (age sixteen - eighteen) in w h at is know n as the 'sixth 
form '. This can be a t a secondary school or at a college.
In th e sixth form , p u p ils are u su ally given m ore freedom . T heir 
tim etable m ay include 'free p erio d s' w hen they d o n 't have classes, 
b ut they are expected to stu d y on their own. 'Sixth form ers' usually 
have an area w here they can relax, know n as the 'corrunon room '. 
There are m any different subjects for sixth formers to choose from, 
b u t m ost choose a m axim um of four subjects. Most choose subjects 
related to w hat they w an t to stu d y at university. For exam ple, if a 
p u p il wsfhts to s tu d y jo u rn a lism a t u n iv e rsity , s h e / h e p ro b ab ly
chooses English at A level.
A levels are d ivid ed into six units and are stu d ied over tw o years. 
Three units are studied in the first year, and pupils do coursew ork 
and take exam s during and at the end of this year (year 12). Pupils 
get an 'AS level' ('A dvanced Subsidiary level') in subjects they pass 
after the first year.

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In the final year (year 13) pupils com plete the final three units, which
are k now n as the A2 level. T here are m ore exam s, and p u p ils are
given a final A level grade, w hich brings together the three AS level
g rad es an d the three A2 level grades. The best A level g ra d e is a
grade A, follow ed by B, C, D and E. Pupils w h o fail are given a grade
U. To get a grade A, pupils m u st score 80% or m ore, w hile 40% is
needed to p ass (grade E). Pupils get their results a w eek before the 
GCSE results come out.
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