The Entry Level Certificate (ELC) is a

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

offered in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It lies at

Entry Level Entry Level is the lowest level in the National Qualifications Framework in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Qualifications at this level recognise basic knowledge and skills and the ability to apply learning in everyday situations under d ...

of the National Qualifications Framework, pitching it just below

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

level.

The qualification

ELCs are available in a variety of subjects, such as English, Maths,

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, French, Life Skills and

Childcare Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

. The qualifications are targeted at those who struggle to access the mainstream curriculum, such as students with

special educational needs Special educational needs (SEN), also known as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the United Kingdom refers to the education of children who require different education provision to the mainstream system. Meaning The meaning of S ...

. Most students take the qualifications in school at ages 14–16, as an alternative to GCSEs, but many adults also take them. Students are assessed through a combination of

coursework Coursework (also course work, especially British English) is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can e ...

, controlled assessment and

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

, depending on the qualification. ELCs are offered by a number of

examination board An examination board (or exam board) is an organization that sets examinations, is responsible for marking them, and distributes the results. Some are run by governmental entities; some are run as not-for-profit organizations. List of national ex ...

s, including

AQA AQA Education, trading as AQA (formerly the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance), is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds Test (assessment), examinations in various subjects at Genera ...

, CCEA,

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. It ...

, OCR and WJEC.

Grading

A student successfully completing an ELC is awarded one of the following grades, which are common to all Entry Level qualifications: * Entry 3 (highest) * Entry 2 * Entry 1 (lowest) Those who do not reach the level for Entry 1 are recorded as uncertified (U) and do not have the subject appear on their results certificates. Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 are broadly equivalent to

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or othe ...

Levels 1, 2 and 3 respectively. When converting qualifications to school attainment points, Entry 1 is worth 10 points, Entry 2 is worth 12 and Entry 3 is worth 14. This compares to 16 points for GCSE Grade G (the lowest GCSE pass) and 22 points for GCSE Grade F.

History

The Entry Level Certificate was launched as the Certificate of Achievement (Certificate of Educational Achievement if offered by WJEC) in September 1996, with the first awards being made in 1998. The grades were originally known as Distinction (now Entry 3), Merit (Entry 2) and Pass (Entry 1).http://store.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-COA-JUN00.PDF The name Entry Level Certificate was adopted from the 2001 award onwards.

References

{{reflist Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom School examinations School qualifications