Qualifications

Qualifications offered by CL Education that are important in terms of obtaining a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or attending South African Universities are the Checkpoint Secondary 1, IGCSE, AS and A levels.

In order to ensure the highest possible grades for students CL Education offers online support and tutoring. In most cases the student completing IGCSE’s may find that online support isn’t always necessary in understanding the core component but as the transition is made to the extended portion of the IGCSE syllabus more support is needed, more frequently.

AS and A levels, however, will require frequent and continual tutor support. It is suggested that students do attend regular lessons for the year 12/13 year of studies. These levels have varying degrees of difficulty in terms of the step up in cognitive ability: it is not simply a case of regurgitating knowledge at AS/A level: analysis, interpretation and application also play an integral part in assimilating knowledge and skills. The volume of work increases and the way in which exam questions need to be answered, as expected by http://www.cie.org.uk, all form part of the cognitive transformation from AS level onward. Once mastered, these skills are not just useful to pass the exams, but will stand students in good stead for university and can be regarded as true Life Skills for their future careers.

What Levels can I achieve with the different qualifications?

Grade 11 / Year 11 equivalence

By passing a minimum of five subject at the O/IGCSE level in one sitting grades A to G, including English, students will be deemed to have achieved a Grade 11 year pass.

National Senior Certificate without exemption

To obtain an evaluation of a Senior Certificate (in its most basic form, i.e. excluding Matriculation Exemption), one of the following subject combinations is required:

1. A total of four different subjects, including three Ordinary Level / IGCSE subjects graded A to C , plus one Advanced Level
   Or
   A total of six different subjects, including five Ordinary Level / IGCSE subjects graded A to E, plus one Advanced Level.
2. A total of five different subjects, including three Ordinary Level / IGCSE subjects graded A to C, plus two passes at AS Level
   Or
   A total of seven different subjects, including five Ordinary Level / IGCSE subjects graded A to E, plus two passes at AS Level.

South African Matriculation Full University Exemption

To qualify for a full university exemption and enable you to apply to South African Universities, government regulations require that you fulfil certain requirements with regard to:

• the subjects that you study,
• the grade you need to obtain,
• the level of the exam e.g. IGCSE, AS or A-Level,
• the number of exam sessions that it takes you to obtain the qualifications.

Exemption via AS-Levels

If you are intending to apply for an exemption based on AS levels then to comply with the minimum requirements, you must have five recognised school subjects, four AS-level school subjects grade D or better and one IGCSE grade C or better.

Remember this is the minimum and will be not guarantee of a place at University.

• English first language at AS-Level
• A second language at AS or IGCSE-Level
• Maths or a third language at AS or IGCSE-Level
• Any two subjects from groups III, IV or V at AS level

Subject Groups

Group III: A third language approved by the Committee of Principals not offered for the purpose of Group I or II, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics

Group IV: Art, Biology (if not offered under Group III), Chemistry (if not offered under Group III), Economics, Geography, History, Mathematics (if not offered under Group III), Music or Physics (if not offered under Group III)

Group V: Accounting, Business Studies, Computing, Design and Technology or Further Mathematics

Exam Sittings

In terms of the HESA requirements all of the AS and IGCSE-level examinations used to apply for matric exemption, must be obtained in no more than two exam sessions. They don’t have to be consecutive sessions so long as they have passed all in 2 sessions. This does not apply if the students are doing full A Levels.

Please contact HESA for conversion to a NSC with exemption Certificate: http://www.hesa.org.za/faq

Exemption via A-Levels

If you continue to full A-levels, as stated the two sitting rule no longer applies. Again to obtain the minimum qualifications you must still have the five school subjects as shown above. Now however, along with the minimum of two A levels at grades A to E, the subjects can be a combination of AS and IGCSE subjects. These must be written with 13 months of the AS subjects.

If you are intending to apply for an exemption based on A-levels then to comply with the minimum requirements, you must again have five recognised school subjects, two A-level school subjects grade A to E and three IGCSE’s grade C or better (remember the minimum three IGCSE’s could actually be a combination of IGCSE’s and AS levels grades A to D.

It is a fact that individual Universities and even faculties will have different requirements for their courses. It is imperative that parents and students are aware of these requirements, by contacting the departments concerned directly. If you do not have the correct specific subject qualifications and grades you will not be accepted, no matter how many points you have. It is also worth noting that the Universities are currently allowed to set their own grade requirements for AS or A levels which, due to ignorance on there part and some politics are often quite high.