May 2017 marks the beginning of AS exams for many sixth form and college students in the UK. AS exams are a set of exams which are traditionally sat at the end of Year 12. AS exams can be taken either as a stand-alone qualification, or as the first part of an A level course. This month has seen many students receive their AS and A-level timetables in the UK.

The topic of AS exams remains a controversial topic as they are a mixture of views concerning whether AS exams are really worthwhile. The common argument against AS exams is that students may take study leave which could be valuable teaching time for the rest of the course to be taught. Likewise, AS exams still contribute to 50% of some A-level subjects depending on the particular sixth form or college.

When asked whether she believed AS exams were really worth it, Maria Akintunde (16) commented, ‘AS exams are only worth it for the old specification but not for the new specification. Previously, people were able to test their knowledge at the end of year 12 while the information is still fresh in their minds. Likewise, it also counts towards their full A-level so they already get some exams done and over with. This means less stress in year 13’. Maria also went on to say that ‘students are given the opportunity to improve their AS grade in Year 13 if they wish to improve their grade’. Finally, Maria stated that AS exams on the new specification ‘do not receive any UCAS points and no longer count towards an A-level, schools can do their own internal exams towards the end of the academic year to measure progress instead of AS exams’.

Tahiya Ahmed (17) also went on to say that ‘AS exams are worth it as having separate exams that test your knowledge at the end of year 12 means you are less overwhelmed because you do not have two years of content left to learn for final exams at the end of year 13’. Finally, Tahiya stated that ‘AS exams are okay for some people but not for other people as AS exams can cause more confusion than good for some. Currently, in my school at least, AS exams are only in politics and mathematics and they have the pressure of trying to be up to date with revision for AS exams and not slack on work for their other courses which are linear courses’.

Overall, it is evident that AS exams have their advantages and disadvantages as they can provide a useful qualification for some but may be an unnecessary source of stress for others.

Rebecca Ogbonna – Ursuline Academy Ilford