University Guides September 2, 2010

• Time to say goodbye to the A-level?
  Should we phase out A-levels?  As the headmistress of one of the UK’s leading state grammar schools is encouraging pupils to switch to the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB), today’s Independent newspaper carries a feature by Professor Don Nutbeam, vice-chancellor of Southampton University, questioning whether A-levels now serve students, universities and prospective employers as well as in the past.

   

  Nicole Chapman, headmistress of Chelmsford County High School for Girls in Essex, feels the IB offers a broader curriculum and is a better preparation for university.

  Prof Nutbeam comments that recent changes such as the arrival of diplomas, the introduction of a modular structure, applied subjects and the extended project, have tackled the perceived narrowness of A-levels, but risk confusing students and their parents, who are faced with ‘an ever expanding smorgasbord of, as yet, untested options’.

  He feels universities currently exacerbate the problem, continuing to rely on A-levels as the primary form of assessment and offering ever more highly specialized degree programmes. From the age of 15 ‘young people progressively learn more and more about less and less’.

  The IB diploma is an equivalent alternative to A-levels. Students study across six mandatory academic areas, with three subjects studied to a higher level and three to a standard level. This ensures a breadth of experience across the core subject areas, which include experimental sciences, maths, and social studies, as well as a second language. Students also study the theory of knowledge, and are required to complete an extended essay through independent research.

   

  The professor says, ’now is an ideal time for our new Government, with its fresh perspectives, to engage in a more productive discussion of alternatives’.  When it comes to universities he concludes that several, including the University of Southampton, are examining ways to offer a more flexible, customised, programme, which will help develop the generic skills and attributes important to today’s students and employers.

   

  For the full feature, see the Independent website