AS entries plummet by nearly 40%. Was this Gove's worst idea yet?

While the 'reality check' can be useful, shouldn't it be possible for schools to manage this (as in the 'old days') with internal exams at the end of yr 12? Less expensive in time and money and far less stressful.

Our school still does four subjects in Y12 and AS levels. DD got her results today. IMO they have provided a reality check for her that she would not have got otherwise - she did better in the subject she perceived as her 'worst' than in the subject she thinks of as her best and which she wants to continue at university. Now we have the option of really analysing what she needs to do to pull her grades up in that subject and she can have a think about how much of her antipathy to her supposed 'worst' subject was due to the fact that she thought she would do badly in it.

My eldest dd has just got her AS level results today and her friends. Most only took 3. One girl has got a U in one so now can't take this next year. My dd got an A B and D despite all predictions being C and one a C/D. I'm glad she's done them so uni won't just look at predictions. She knows exactly why she got a D for one and will make sure she works on this. For me I honestly could not have told you what she would have got before today but assumed it was near predictions. I'm so glad we know she's more capable so she can really push on next year.
Can I just say I think Gove is an utter twat.

DD's school still did AS exams this year. Starting with 4 was a good choice for her as she discovered that she absolutely hated psychology. She managed to bag an A in it but is pleased that she has now dropped it. She just needs to concentrate on getting 3 As in her remaining subjects now.

If you're looking at it from a school policy POV, two possibilities are:

• starting 4 Alevel courses and dropping one
• starting 3 plus an EPQ, so there's somethjng else with points if one of the A levels goes tits up

And yes, closer counselling about A level options is likely to be needed. Do you already have a minimum GCSE mark for going on to A level maths? You could consider setting difference marks/grades to access different subjects depending in just how much if a step up there is.

I thought the three successive years of public exams was onerous, and am glad to see moves back to the situation where there were just the two.

Universities used to make offers based in predictions, but perhaps with greater weight on O level/GCSE results. I don't have a crystal ball, but do suspect that'll be the way they do it again.

I think that many schools are going to have to offer Year 14 to those who look as though they may not make it through all 3 choices. Both of my DSs are doing Y14 due to medical circumstances. One has repeated his AS maths and will now repeat his A2 Physics. We are fortunate that the school has been understanding and requested extra funding.

Schools are going to have to give students much better advice and possible be much harder on the students which will prevent some kids from taking subjects they like rather than what they are suited to.

From what I remember when we went to re-enroll last year at a different college (though we eventually ended up staying at the same school), the funding criteria has changed so that if a student doesn't do well in the first year of a subject, a school or college may force a change to a new subject as they won't be funded for that student to repeat the subject from the beginning. We saw many distraught students who weren't being allowed to transfer from school/college A to B and re-take the same subject. They were being advised to re-assess their abilities and their future post-KS5 options.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Our school is dropping AS levels but allowing students to study 4 until Christmas and then dropping one. This is in case they really don't like a subject they haven't studied before such as sociology, psychology, economics, politics.

I expect we'll see more students retaking yr 12.

DS2 is awaiting GCSE results next week & is hoping to stay on to take A-Levels at sixth form.

His school are completely abandoning AS Levels from this September, and are just doing three subjects from the outset. It is a bit worrying how they will cope with a student who isn't getting on with a particular subject. It's not as though you can drop a choice at the end of Year 12 & complete an entire new subject in Year 13 is it?

I was sceptical about the introduction of stand alone AS levels initially but I think the advantages ultimately outweighed the negatives. I think the flexibility to start 4 courses then drop to 3 worked well, especially for slightly less mature or focused students who found the step up to A Level difficult. I think it allowed more accurate UCAS predictions - got over confident students to aim more realistically and less confident students who did better than expected at AS to aim high.

In one way getting rid of AS is good, as means there's a bit of a break from the 3 relentless years of public exams. It seemed to work ok back in my day, when most people just did A levels. I think the problem is more what you've said, that some schools aren't wanting to let students start more than 3, and that is exacerbated by the existence now of more subjects, some of which won't have been studied at gcse and/or not 'facilitating'. And I sincerely hope that no school places this limitation on anyone wanting to do further maths!

when looking at 6th forms with DD I was told by several staff at different schools they would not be continuing with AS because the way the syllabus was set out meant that the work load was disproportionately heavy in the second year. Not doing the AS meant the staff could choose where to "break" at the end of the first year and/or the order in which they tackle different topics. So for them it was a practical decision.

We managed with 2 year A levels back in the day and I welcome the fact that students will now have a year (lower sixth) to breathe and learn and not have to focus on taking (external) exams, just like I did. My older child did AS and A2 and there was just no let up from Y10 onwards.