A/AS Levels
The Bournemouth and Poole College's Academy of Sixth Form Studies offers courses from our two centres at Constitution Hill in Poole and Lansdowne in Bournemouth.
We provide excellent standards of teaching and learning where you will be encouraged to achieve academic excellence. Our specialist post-16 teaching staff will work closely with you offering continuous support throughout your studies. We will give you advice and guidance about progression routes and help you take the next step towards university or higher education.
A/AS levels are the traditional route to higher education and subjects are studied at much greater depth than at GCSE. It is not always essential to have studied a subject at GCSE to take it at A/AS level and there are several new subjects on offer that you may not have had the chance to study before. All full-time students will take an enrichment programme, which may include Key Skills, Information Technology, General Studies and Critical Thinking. As an extra enrichment opportunity, a Certificate in Financial Studies is also available at the Bournemouth site.
How AS/A Levels are taught
As well as including lectures and class work, many subjects will give you the chance to study through laboratory and practical work, fieldwork and demonstrations. There is also a greater emphasis on student-centred learning where you take the initiative for researching a subject either on your own or in a team. This will give you an insight into studying at university. An AS/A level programme at The College normally involves four subjects in the first year, dropping to three in the second year. Each AS or A2 subject has about 4.5 hours of lectures per week (usually one morning lecture and one afternoon lecture) with group size averaging 18. You can expect to have to work a similar amount of time outside the classroom each week, to complete assignments and do preparation.
Choosing your subjects
In Year 1 you can choose 4 AS level subjects. The range of subjects you can choose will depend on the timetable of the subjects. All students will study AS General Studies and Key Skills as part of their course.
Courses are:
Based at: Bournemouth or Poole, Two years (first year AS level, second year A level)
Course level: Level 3, Advanced
Entry requirements: English Language IELTS 6.0 or equivalent and good high school passes. Next Step: Progression to higher education for a foundation degree, or to employment.
What Our Students Have Said…
Wendy Wei, China
Coming to England from China to continue my education has been one of the best things I have ever done. It takes a little getting used to at first, with the differences in culture, language and lifestyle, but Bournemouth is such a multi-national place now that it doesn’t take long to make new friends as well as meeting people from your own country.
The College does everything it can to make you feel welcome, from setting you up with a host family to making sure you are coping with the College environment. If you need extra help with the language then this can be arranged for you - you only have to ask!
There is a good mixture of ages and nationalities at The College which makes it an exciting place to study. The tutors offer support whenever you need it and the staff in the International office are riendly and approachable. They want you to feel as if you belong and this has really given me the confidence to do well at my studies.
I have made many good friends through The College and I shall look back fondly at my time here."
Wendy is now studying Economics at Warwick University after having completed her A levels at The College.
