General administration
You can find information about all aspects of administration, as well as all the forms you need, at aqa.org.uk/examsadmin
Entries and codes
Please check the current version of Entry Procedures and Codes for up-to-date entry procedures.
You will only need to make one entry for this qualification, either ELC Science – Single Award or ELC Science – Double Award. This will cover certification.
Entries should be submitted by 21 February each year.
| Qualification title | AQA entry code | DfE discount code |
|---|---|---|
| AQA Entry Level Certificate – Single Award | 5961 | TBC |
| AQA Entry Level Certificate – Double Award | 5962 | TBC |
This specification complies with:
- Ofqual criteria for Entry Level Certificate qualifications
- Ofqual General conditions of recognition that apply to all regulated qualifications
- all other relevant regulatory documents.
The Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) is 601/7522/9.
Overlaps with other qualifications
ELC Science subject content matches AQA GCSE Combined Sciences to help co-teaching.
Certification and reporting results
Where a student’s performance is sufficient to meet the level requirements, an Entry Level Certificate is awarded.
The student’s final mark is an aggregation of the marks for the individual components. The level of award (Entry 1, Entry 2 or Entry 3) will be based on the student’s total mark.
Resits and shelf life
Students can re-sit the qualification as many times as they want within the shelf life of the specification.
Students may not make more than one attempt at the same Externally-set assignment (ESA) for a component. However, they may attempt the second or third assignment for a component from the other sets available, if they fail to complete the first assignment satisfactorily.
ESAs must not be returned to students, but must be kept in a secure place in the school or college.
If teachers wish to allow their students to practise an ESA, one of the specimen ESAs should be used.
Students may make more than one attempt at a Teacher-devised assignment (TDA) for a component. However, once a student has received feedback from their teacher on a particular TDA, an alternative TDA must be used for that component.
Students’ results are based on the work they submit for assessment.
Previous learning and prerequisites
This specification builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills acquired in Programmes of Study at Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum. We advise that students have experience of the Programme of Study for KS3 Science. However, this is not a requirement.
We recommend that students have acquired literacy and numeracy skills of at least Level 1, as these will be used in all components.
Access to assessment: diversity and inclusion
General qualifications are designed to prepare students for a wide range of occupations and further study. Therefore our qualifications must assess a wide range of competences.
The subject criteria have been assessed to see if any of the skills or knowledge required present any possible difficulty to any students, whatever their ethnic background, religion, sex, age, disability or sexuality. If any difficulties were encountered, the criteria were reviewed again to make sure that tests of specific competences were only included if they were important to the subject.
As members of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) we participate in the production of the JCQ document Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments: General and Vocational qualifications. We follow these guidelines when assessing the needs of individual students who may require an access arrangement or reasonable adjustment. This document is published on the JCQ website at jcq.org.uk
Students with disabilities and special needs
We can make arrangements for disabled students and students with special needs to help them access the assessments, as long as the competences being tested are not changed. Access arrangements must be agreed before the assessment. For example, a Braille paper would be a reasonable adjustment for a Braille reader but not for a student who does not read Braille.
We are required by the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to remove or lessen any disadvantage that affects a disabled student.
If you have students who need access arrangements or reasonable adjustments, you can apply using the Access arrangements online service at aqa.org.uk/eaqa
Special consideration
We can give special consideration to students who have been disadvantaged at the time of the assessment through no fault of their own – for example a temporary illness, injury or serious problem such as the death of a relative. We can only do this after the assessment.
Your exams officer should apply online for special consideration at aqa.org.uk/eaqa
For more information and advice about access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special consideration please see aqa.org.uk/access or email accessarrangementsqueries@aqa.org.uk
Working with AQA for the first time
If your school or college has not previously offered any AQA specification, you need to register as an AQA centre to offer our specifications to your students. Find out how at aqa.org.uk/becomeacentre
Once you become an AQA registered centre you will have access to a Coursework adviser who will provide you with support and advice. You will also be able to book on to appropriate courses to provide preparation for teaching the course.
Private candidates
This specification is not available to private candidates.
