Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.
AQA Education, trading as AQA, is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds examinations in various subjects at GCSE, AS and A Level and offers vocational qualifications. AQA is a registered charity and independent of the government. However, its qualifications and exam syllabi are regulated by the Government of the United Kingdom, which is the regulator for the public examinations system in England and Wales.
Edexcel is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. Its name is a portmanteau term combining the words education and excellence.
An examination board is an organization that sets examinations, is responsible for marking them, and distributes the results. Some are run by governmental entities; some are run as not-for-profit organizations.
Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) is an examination board that sets examinations and awards qualifications. It is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards.
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) is a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge, which operates under the brand name Cambridge Assessment, and is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. It provides educational assessments, which include the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) examination board, Cambridge Assessment International Education, Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing, and Cambridge Assessment English for learners of the English language.
WJEC is an examination board providing examinations, professional development and educational resources to schools and colleges in Wales, England and Northern Ireland under its own name and the Eduqas brand.
Cambridge Assessment International Education is a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations and qualifications to 10,000 schools in more than 160 countries. It is a non-profit and non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge.
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainment. It was developed by Cambridge Assessment International Education. The examination boards Edexcel, Learning Resource Network (LRN), and Oxford AQA also offer their own versions of International GCSEs. Students normally begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 10 and take the test at the end of Year 11. However, in some international schools, students can begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 9 and take the test at the end of Year 10.
Cambridge Assessment English or Cambridge English develops and produces Cambridge English Qualifications and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The organisation contributed to the development of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the standard used around the world to benchmark language skills, and its qualifications and tests are aligned with CEFR levels.
OCR Nationals are vocationally related qualifications which were officially launched by the OCR Board in September 2004. The qualifications are designed to meet the needs of those seeking vocational education in place of the traditional, theory-intensive, academic route. Although the target audience are teenagers (14-19), the qualifications are also suitable for adult learners, much like the GNVQ. The OCR Nationals are being phased out, and replaced by the Cambridge Nationals.
The A-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1951 to replace the Higher School Certificate. The A-level permits students to have potential access to a chosen university they applied to with UCAS points. They could be accepted into it should they meet the requirements of the university.
The O-Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It began in the United Kingdom and has been adopted, often with modifications, in several other countries.
The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is a non-ministerial government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England. Colloquially and publicly, Ofqual is often referred to as the exam "watchdog".
The Midland Examining Group (MEG) was an examination board, operating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It offered a range of GCSE and Certificate of Achievement qualifications. It became part of OCR in 1998.
In the UK education sector, there are a wide range of qualification types offered by the United Kingdom awarding bodies. Qualifications range in size and type, can be academic, vocational or skills-related, and are grouped together into different levels of difficulty. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, qualifications are divided into Higher Education qualifications, which are on the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) and are awarded by bodies with degree awarding powers, and Regulated qualifications, which are on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and are accredited by Ofqual in England, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in Northern Ireland and Qualifications Wales in Wales. In Scotland, qualifications are divided into Higher Education qualifications, Scottish Qualifications Authority qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifications/Modern Apprenticeships, which are on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Scottish Higher Education Qualifications are on both the SCQF and the FHEQ.
Examination boards in the United Kingdom are the examination boards responsible for setting and awarding secondary education level qualifications, such as GCSEs, Standard Grades, A Levels, Highers and vocational qualifications, to students in the United Kingdom.
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) is a community interest company acting as a single voice for the eight largest qualification providers in the United Kingdom offering GCSE, GCE, Scottish Highers and vocationally related qualifications: AQA, CCEA, City & Guilds, Edexcel, NCFE, OCR, SQA and WJEC. The JCQ closely monitors examination administration, invigilation of exams at individual schools and activities of exams officers.
Cambridge Technicals are vocational qualifications, offered by Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) in the United Kingdom, and Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) internationally; both are part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. These qualifications are intended for secondary school students age 16 to 18 who want to study a practical, work-related curriculum. In the UK's Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) a Tech Level 2 qualification is equivalent to a GCSE, and a Level 3 is equivalent to an A Level. The qualifications are designed with the workplace in mind and provide a high quality alternative to A Levels, supporting progression to higher education.
£1 billion (2022) [1] 