Carry forward rules – what can be carried forward and when?

What types of AS Level credit can candidates carry forward?

Candidates may be able to use AS Level credit from a previous series to complete their A Level.

1. Check whether your candidate’s previous AS Level credit meets one or more of the criteria shown below.
2. If it does, go to ‘When can AS Level credit be carried forward’ to check that they can carry it forward.

It may be possible to carry forward a candidate’s AS Level credit, if the candidate has:

• AS Level marks for all components of an AS Level taken as a standalone AS Level qualification, e.g. Paper 12 and Paper 22 making up AS Level entry option SY.
• AS Level marks for all components of an AS Level taken as a standalone AS Level qualification, including some marks obtained by ‘calculated assessment’, following a component exemption or component adjustment in a previous series.
• AS Level grade awarded by the school-assessed grades route where the AS Level entry was for a standalone AS Level qualification.
• AS Level marks for all components of the AS Level taken as part of a linear A Level or ‘best of both’ entry option in the previous series, e.g. Paper 12 and Paper 22 taken with Paper 32 and Paper 42 as part of a linear A Level option AY.
• AS Level marks for all components of the AS Level taken as part of a linear A Level or ‘best of both’ entry option in the previous series, including some AS Level marks obtained by ‘calculated assessment’ following a component exemption or component adjustment in a previous series.
• An A Level grade awarded by the school-assessed grades route where the entry in the previous series was for a linear A Level or ‘best of both’ entry option which would have included the AS Level components under an examination route.

When can the AS Level credit be carried forward?

For a candidate to be able to use their AS Level credit from a previous series, they will also need to meet ALL of the requirements below.

• All of the AS Level credit which is being carried forward must come from the same series.
• The AS Level must be carried forward to a series within 13 months of the series when the AS Level was completed. For example, an AS Level completed in June 2021 can be carried forward to any future series that takes place up to 13 months after June 2021 (November 2021, March 2022 or June 2022).
• The AS Level credit cannot be carried forward twice.
• The AS Level must form part of an A Level syllabus which has staged routes and allows carry forward.
• The AS Level must include a valid combination of components when compared to the components which the candidate will take at A2 Level to complete their A Level.
• The syllabus must be offered in the series in which the candidate intends to complete their A Level.
• There have not been changes to the syllabus in the interim which mean that carrying forward from the old version of a syllabus to the new version is not permitted.

For some A Level entry routes, proof of AS Level credit from a previous series is a pre-requisite for entry but the grade itself awarded at AS Level will not be taken into account in the awarding the final A Level grade. This applies to the A2-only route.