GCSE and GCE
These are offered by examination boards such as AQA, OCR, Edexcel & WJEC. The Academy looks at the syllabus/specifications for the various subjects offered by these boards and selects those best suited for this Academy.
Students are then taught, in their lessons, a syllabus to lead them towards those specifications. We use all of those boards mentioned e.g. AQA for Language and English (from 2013), OCR for Sciences & WJEC for Religious Studies.
The written examinations for these are sat at the same time all over the UK, in May/June & November.
BTEC
These are more vocationally oriented qualifications and offered by Edexcel.
All externally awarded examinations and controlled assessments have to be conducted under strict rules as determined by the awarding bodies and the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).
EXAM BOARD WEBSITES
The individual Examination Boards have their own websites with valuable information here:
AQA: http://web.aqa.org.uk
EDEXCEL: http://www.edexcel.com
OCR: http://www.ocr.org.uk
WJEC: http://www.wjec.co.uk
CACHE: http://www.cache.org.uk