The General Certificate of Education or GCE is a secondary-level academic qualification, which is used in Britain as well as in some former British colonies. It is often divided into two levels: Ordinary level (O-level) (replaced in 1986 by the GCSE in certain countries) and Advanced level (A-Level), although other categories exist. Since 1999 when it was introduced, the Advanced Subsidiary level (AS-level) has also come into wider use. The qualifications are administered by examination boards. The O Level (Ordinary Level) was a General Certificate of Education qualification in the United Kingdom. ... GCSE is an acronym that can refer to: General Certificate of Secondary Education global common subexpression elimination - an optimisation technique used by some compilers This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education qualification in the United Kingdom, usually taken by students during the optional final two years of secondary school (Years 12 & 13, commonly called the Sixth Form), or at a separate sixth form college or further education college... An examination board is an organization that sets examinations and is responsible for marking them and distributing results. ...

History

The GCE was originally introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1951, replacing the older School Certificate (SC) and Higher School Certificate (HSC). It was intended to cater for the increased range of subjects available to pupils since the raising of the school leaving age from 14 to 15 in 1947. The examinations were graded into ordinary level for 16-year-olds, and advanced level for 18-year-olds. There was also an intermediate level alternative ordinary level (AO-level) and a higher special paper (S-level). Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... The Higher School Certificate(HSC) was a qualification, established in 1918 by the Secondary Schools Examination Council (SSEC). ...

O-level passes were at Grades 1 through 6, with Grades 7 through 9 being a fail. Later this was changed to A, B and C passing grades. Grades D, E and U (Unclassified) were a fail. A-levels were graded A-E with "U" (ungraded), being a fail.

O-level

See Also Ordinary Level The O Level (Ordinary Level) was a General Certificate of Education qualification in the United Kingdom. ...

In 1988, O-level qualifications were replaced by a new system, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). This meant that the final O-level examinations were taken in 1987, while the curriculum for the new system was introduced in 1986. However the O-level is still used in many former British colonies, such as Bangladesh, Ghana, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malta, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago and some parts of Britain continued to use O-levels for some time after 1988. “GCSE” redirects here. ...

The Cambridge International Examinations board still offers O-level examinations. International GCE O-levels are offered across many countries in the world through the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and Edexcel Examination board. GCE O-Levels are offered across around 200+ countries in the world, and in June 2005, 12 million candidates registered for CIE examinations across the world. CIE logo University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) is the worlds biggest provider of international qualifications for students between the ages of 14 and 19. ... CIE is an acronym which can stand for Córas Iompair Éireann, Irish transport company; the International Commission on Illumination; the postnominal of a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire; Cambridge International Examinations, an international examination board. ... Edexcel is a London-based for-profit company and one of England, Wales and Northern Irelands five main examination boards. ...

Worldwide use

Increasingly in Singapore, students who perform well in school are given the option to bypass the O-levels, and take the A-levels instead at the age of 18, in a scheme dubbed the integrated programme (also known as the through-train programme). Educational oversight Minister Ministry of Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam National education budget S$6. ...

In Malta, the British examinations are still very popular, though their popularity has been in decline since the introduction of a similar examination scheme by the University of Malta. The University of Malta is the highest teaching institution in the Republic of Malta. ...

In Hong Kong, students wishing to attend university in the United Kingdom usually take the British examinations in addition to Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE), despite the equivalent agreement between the two sets of examinations, for grades attained in the British examination tend to be much better because GCEAL's A percentage is even larger than HKAL's A to C percentages. So, studying the the united kingdom is a favourable choice if the student can't be admitted to any of HK universities. The English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong runs schools that follow the British patterned education, and students take GCSE in Years 10–11 and AS/A Level exams in Years 12–13, although the schools are transitioning to the IB Diploma. The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE, 香港中學會考) is a standardized examination which most local students sit for at the end of their 5-year secondary education. ... The Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE, 香港高級程度會考), or more commonly known as A-level, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), is normally taken by senior students at the end of their matriculation in Hong Kong. ...

In many Asian countries like India and Nepal A-Levels are becoming more and more popular as opposed to the traditional 10 plus 2s which worked instead of the A-Levels. The main reason for the increasing popularity of A-Levels in economic poor countries is the emigrating youth to Western European and North American countries.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka GCE(O/L) and GCE(A/L) examinations are conducted by the examinations department of the government of Sri Lanka. The GCE(O/L) is normally conducted in the month of December and GCE (A/L)s are conducted in the month of August. They are conducted on an islandwide examination centers on same time. Examination entrance is restricted by a minimal number of formal school going years and laboratory field work. The majority of candidates enter the exams via their respective schools, while candidates who finished schools can also apply as a private candidates.

The O/L examination is regarded as the qualification examination for starting on GCE(A/L). Specialization streaming is depended on the grades obtained for subjects in the O/L. The country's reputed schools admit students to their A/L depending on the O/L grades.

The Sri Lankan University Grants commission determines the cutoff points for the selection of students to the Sri Lankan universities according to the grade points obtained in the A/L examinations, on a Z-score system.^[1] In statistics, a standard score (z) is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the sample mean from an individual (raw) score and then dividing the difference by the sample standard deviation: The quantity z represents the number of standard deviations between the raw score and the mean; it is negative...

See also

• Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE)
• Advanced Level (UK)
• Ordinary Level
• O.W.L. (a fictional parody)

The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) was a former English school leaving qualification which was available along with the GCE O Levels between the period from 1965 to 1987. ... The A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education qualification in the United Kingdom, usually taken by students during the optional final two years of secondary school (Years 12 & 13, commonly called the Sixth Form), or at a separate sixth form college or further education college... The O Level (Ordinary Level) was a General Certificate of Education qualification in the United Kingdom. ... In the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling, an Ordinary Wizarding Level (often abbreviated O.W.L. or OWL), is the first official academic hurdle required of students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. ...

References