A-Levels: all you should know

The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level, the A level, is a UK subject qualification taken before university in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

This guide focuses specifically on that UK qualification. It is not the Cambridge International AS and A Level, which is a separate qualification. Cambridge OCR, listed by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), is an awarding organisation in the UK and is not Cambridge International. This qualification is also not a Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher. Scotland uses a distinct school qualifications system.

Each subject you study receives its own independent grade. Learn does not offer A level practice yet, but this guide will help you understand how the qualification is structured and assessed across the UK.

Five awarding organisations offer GCE A levels across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In its A level dashboard published on 13 August 2026, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) lists:

• AQA
• Cambridge OCR
• CCEA
• Pearson
• WJEC (Eduqas)

You will sometimes see different names used for the same awarding body. The UCAS Tariff table refers to OCR and Pearson Edexcel, while the JCQ dashboard records Cambridge OCR and Pearson. Both sources refer to the same awarding organisations.

Grading standards are set in agreement with the regulators. According to the regulators' joint statement on qualifications:

• A level results are awarded on a scale from A* to E.
• Advanced Subsidiary (AS) results are awarded on a scale from A to E. There is no A* grade at AS level.
• AS content represents about half of a full A level across all three nations.

Grade boundaries are not fixed in advance. As explained in the Ofqual student guide 2026, examiners set grade boundaries only after marking is complete. There is no predetermined quota or cap on the number of students who can achieve a particular grade. Instead, boundaries may move slightly up or down depending on whether an exam paper was harder or easier than in previous years. In 2026, the standard of work required for each grade was set to remain comparable with summer 2025 and comparable across all exam boards.

As of 31 October 2026, the summer 2026 exam series has concluded.

According to the Ofqual student guide 2026, exams across GCSE, AS, and A level were held between 7 May and 23 June 2026. This shared schedule means individual A level subjects were spread across that window rather than all beginning on 7 May. A national contingency day was scheduled for 24 June 2026. That contingency day was reserved strictly for cases where an exam had to be rescheduled nationally; it could not be used by an individual student to resit a missed paper.

If you miss a scheduled exam paper, Ofqual notes that for many qualifications, including A levels, there is no alternative sitting until the following year.

Results for A level, AS, and T Level students were released on Thursday 13 August 2026. This page does not set the 2027 timetable. Confirm the next series with your school, college, or exam board.

The relationship between an AS level and a full A level is not identical across the UK. You can read about how the assessment structures differ between nations in our guide on A levels in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. To see how each grade converts for university admissions, visit our guide on A level UCAS points.