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Cambridge enters row over decoupling of A and AS levels

Cambridge University has entered the debate over the decoupling of AS and A levels, by writing to schools and colleges urging them to continue to enter students for the end-of-year 12 examinations.

It said that AS levels offered a “strong measure” of how well students were likely to perform at A level.

From next year, AS and A levels will be treated as separate and distinct qualifications, and A levels will revert to being traditional two-year qualifications with an end-of-course examination. Since 2000, the AS levels have been treated as the first half of an A level, with the grades in both examinations combined to give a final mark.

However, Michael Gove, when education secretary, took the decision to “toughen up” the qualifications by bringing back testing at the end of the two-year course.

Now admissions officers at Cambridge have challenged the decision, claiming AS levels are a “robust indicator of student progress”.

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