School and college leavers

For many UK students, entry to higher education means studying for GCSEs then A-levels, Scottish Highers or the Welsh Baccalaureate, either at school or at a further education college.

You may have studied for NVQs up to levels 3, 4 or 5 or GNVQs through to a BTEC National qualification or Advanced Vocational Certificates of Education (AVCEs). All of these qualifications offer routes into higher education.

Students from inside and outside the UK can apply for courses with qualifications equivalent to A-levels. These include, but are not limited to:

• Advanced Vocational Certificates of Education (AVCEs)
• BTEC Nationals
• Scottish Highers/Advanced Highers
• Welsh Baccalaureate (WB)
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Irish Leaving Certificates
• European Baccalaureate (EB)
• French Baccalaureate (FB)
• Greek or Cypriot Apolyterion

Many of these qualifications are included in the UCAS Tariff| which is a points system which allows different qualifications to be compared. For further details and to download a copy of the tariff please visit the UCAS website|.

If you already have a Higher National Certificate (HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND) or Foundation degree (FdA, FdSc) you may be able to enter a first degree course at the start of the second or even third year.

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