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| Formation | 1997 (alliance) 2000 (merger) |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Awarding Body |
| Headquarters | Manchester, UK |
| Region served | England, Wales and Northern Ireland |
| Website | www.aqa.org.uk |
AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) is an Awarding Body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds examinations in various subjects at GCSE, AS and A Level and offers vocational qualifications. AQA is a registered charity and independent of the Government. It is regulated by Ofqual, which is the regulator for the public examinations system in England and Wales.
AQA is one of five Awarding Bodies which are recognised by the regulators of the public exams systems for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to offer GCSE, AS and A Levels in the United Kingdom. AQA also offers the AQA Baccalaureate, a qualification also intended for students in Year 12 and 13.
AQA began as an alliance of the the Associated Examining Board/Southern Examining Group (AEB/SEG), Northern Examinations and Assessment Board (NEAB) and City & Guilds' GNVQ qualification in November 1997. In September 1998, it was registered as an educational charity. AEB/SEG and NEAB agreed to formally merge in October 1999, with this happening in April 2000.
The organisation has several regional offices, the two largest being in Guildford and Manchester. The current Director-General of AQA is Dr. Mike Cresswell.
Biology A-Level controversy
The Awarding Body has attracted criticism of its Biology Unit 4 exam sat on the 25th of January 2010,. AQA issued a statement January 26th 2010 explaining that they would take account of students' concerns when marking the examination. Ofqual later investigated the matter: "Having thoroughly investigated the matter, Ofqual is confident that the AQA and OCR A2 Biology papers sat in January were suitable and that the grades awarded are a fair and accurate measure of candidates' performance." The full text can be found on the Ofqual website:
References
- Company details. AQA.
- http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/bacc.php
- Coughlan, Sean (January 27, 2010). A-level Facebook protest widens. BBC News.
- http://web.aqa.org.uk/news/messages.php
- http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/news-and-announcements/130/256
External links
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