Fast track A Levels: A quick guide

fast track A levels
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Think A Levels have to be two years? They don’t need to be with fast track A Levels.

Some students don’t want to wait two years to complete their A Levels, and in these circumstances students may want to consider fast-track A Level courses which can be completed in one year.While the majority of students will go through a two year A Level course, colleges like Rochester Independent College offer an alternative to the norm.

Fast track A Levels may open a gateway for academically gifted students who don’t want to wait two years before progressing to University.  It can also be an option to consider when initial A Level results have not met the required grades, as opposed to spending another two years retaking them.

The option for fast track A Levels is open to all different kinds of students, whether they are local, international, needing to retake or are mature students.

Fast track A Levels mean that students can usually successfully complete three A Levels in whichever field they are interested in, within a single year.  There are courses ranging from the Sciences to the arts so there is something for everyone.

Switching A Levels during Fast Track Year

If a student is unsure about initial subject choices for their fast track A Level year, there is no need to worry.

Some students may not be on their initial subject choices. That is why switching A Levels has been made easily accessible to students early on in the year to ensure the right subjects are chosen for students and their career paths.

Students choose their A Levels months before actually starting the course, so it’s easy to understand that once the course starts that sometimes the choices don’t fit with the student. If students don’t feel too confident with the initial A Level subjects that they have chosen when starting, there is no need to worry.

At colleges like Rochester Independent College, students can talk to their tutors and the Sixth Form advisor about their subject choices. This means that students get the advice that they need by working closely with their tutors to ensure they move forward in the right direction for their future career paths and universities.

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International students and fast-track A Levels

Fast-track A Level courses are also well suited to international students with a good academic background and can be most useful as a gateway into top UK universities. Therefore there is more opportunity to study A Levels rather than an IB programme especially if they wish to study in England, so some students choose to make the switch. Studying fast-track A Levels can also be used as an alternative to foundation courses at university, therefore making the transition to higher education smoother.

As an additional stepping stone, English classes are usually available for international students to improve written and verbal English language skills and make it easier when moving onto University.

A final word of warning

Although there are many benefits to completing one year A Level courses, as you might expect, they are not for everybody.  The same amount of course-work and learning needs to be completed as within a more usual two-year course, and so these are best suited to either extremely capable and motivated students, or students who already have a familiarity with the course material (i.e. resits, IB students etc).

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