
	6th form schools
	Using qualifications and awards
	Using advanced extension awards (AEAs)

	Using an AEA in critical thinking
	Using an AEA in economics
	Using AEAs in humanities (including English)
	Using an AEA in mathematics
	Using AEAs in MFL and classics
	Using AEAs in science

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Using advanced extension awards (AEAs)


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

Introduction

Advanced extension awards (AEAs) were introduced for advanced level students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in summer 2002 as part of the government response to its report Excellence in Cities.

The aims of the AEA are to:

challenge the most able advanced level students by providing opportunities for students to demonstrate greater depth of understanding than that required at advanced GCE
be accessible to all able students, whatever their school or college and whichever specification they are studying, so that significantly more young people have the opportunity to take them
help differentiate between the most able candidate, particularly in subjects with a high proportion of A grades at advanced GCE, in order to remove the need for universities to develop their own entry tests.

In autumn 2004 QCA undertook a paper-based survey of 317 centres, involving schools, further education colleges and sixth form colleges, to obtain baseline data to monitor the take up of AEAs across centres and to see whether it was meeting the aims identified above.

At the same time, visits were made to 28 centres to identify the strategies used and opportunities created to stretch their most able candidates.

Using the material

The purpose of this support material is to share information on how a number of centres are providing opportunities to stretch and challenge their most able candidates.

The material describes common approaches to the:

reasons for offering the award and the approach adopted for marketing and recruiting students
arrangements for supporting and preparing students for the tests
activities and topics to enrich and improve high-level subject and study skills.

The information gained from the visits is grouped and presented in the following related subjects areas:

Humanities: geography, history, religious education (including English

Languages: French, German, Latin, Spanish

Science: biology, chemistry, physics

Separate documents have been produced for critical thinking, economics and mathematics. Note that each support material document should be read in conjunction with the AEA survey document.

QCA would like to acknowledge the invaluable contribution that all participating centres made to the production of this material.

Documents to download

> Centre survey 2004 - AEAs (Word) (PDF)
> List of contributing centres (Word) (PDF)

Also see

> Teaching advanced level subjects
> AEAs

QCA web links

> AEAs
> GCSE, GCE, VCE, GNVQ and AEA code of practice 2007