A/AS Levels

View a list of available A/AS Levels.

The Bournemouth and Poole College's Faculty of Sixth Form Studies offers courses from the Lansdowne Campus 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, Two years (first year AS level, second year A level)
Course level: Level 3, Advanced
Entry requirements: English Language IELTS 5.5 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…

Student photo

Wajdi Alnatsha, Palestine

I chose The College because it has a strong reputation for its business courses. There are excellent facilities and Bournemouth is a wonderful part of England.

This course has helped me improve both my business and English skills and I learnt a lot of useful techniques that I can use when I return to my country to work with my father in his companies. Moreover, I have had a great time with my friends at The College and I will miss them all.