What is an AEA in physics?

First examined in June 2002, the Advanced Extension Awards (AEA) in physics was introduced for 18-year-olds as part of the government’s response to its report Excellence in cities. AEAs supersede ‘Special Papers’.

The AEA should:

• 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 than those that took the Special Papers
• challenge the most able advanced level students by providing opportunities for students to demonstrate greater depth of understanding than that required at Advanced GCE
• ensure that the most able students are tested against standards comparable with the most demanding in other countries
• help differentiate between the most able candidates, particularly in subjects with a high proportion of A grades at Advanced GCE, in order to obviate the need for universities to develop their own entry tests.

The AEA qualifications:

• will be included in the UCAS tariff from 2006
• are based on Advanced GCE subject criteria
• test depth of understanding and ability to think critically and creatively
• test connections between different elements of the subject
• require no additional teaching or resources.

All AEAs will have a 100 per cent external assessment.