23 December 2008
Cambridge Pre-U, an alternative to A Level being offered by schools in both the maintained and independent sectors, has now been awarded UCAS points.
Unlike A Levels, the Cambridge Pre-U grading scale is divided into three bands; Distinction, Merit and Pass, each of which is sub-divided into three grades (Distinction 1, Distinction 2, Distinction 3 and so on). A Distinction 2 grade (roughly aligned to A* at A Level) will earn 145 UCAS points, Distinction 3 (benchmarked to the standard required for an A grade at A Level) will earn 130, and 46 points for a Pass 3 (benchmarked to the border between E and U at A Level). The tariff for a Distinction 1 pass will be announced after the first Cambridge Pre-U examination entries have been assessed in 2010.
The qualification has been developed by Cambridge International Examinations which is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group.