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Before University

UCAS - Points Table

UCAS introduced a new scoring system that came into effect for application to Higher Education in September 2002 (revised April 2003). As with the previous system, points are awarded according to the grades achieved in Further Education courses. Scottish Highers, GNVQs and Key Skills Qualifications are now included in the system alongside the existing A-Level qualifications.

The following qualifications will be represented by the new UCAS points system:

  • The CACHE (Council for Awards in Children's Care and Education) Diploma in Child Care and Education
  • BTEC National qualifications
  • GCE A-level (6-unit) and Advanced Subsidiary (3-unit)
  • Vocational A-level (6- and 12-unit), Vocational Advanced Subsidiary (3-unit) and Vocational A-level units taken in addition to the 12-unit award
  • Freestanding Mathematics units at Level 3
  • New Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers
  • Intermediate 2 and Standard Grade Credit (Scotland)
  • The Key Skills of Application of Number, Communication and IT at levels 2,3 and 4
  • IFS (Institute of Financial Services) Certificate in Financial Services Practice.
  • Music examinations grades 6, 7 and 8 offered by four awarding bodies - Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM); Guildhall; London College of Music and Media (LCMM); and Trinity.
CACHE Diploma1 BTEC Nationals2 GCE/VCE Qualifications Points Scottish Qualifications
Theory Prac. Aw'd Cert. Dip. GCE AS/AS VCE GCE A
level
/AVCE		 AVCE Double Award Free standing Maths3 Adv Higher Higher Int 2 Stand'd Grade
DDD 360
DDM 320
DMM 280
A DD MMM AA 240
AB 220
B DM MMP BB 200
BC 180
C MM MPP CC 160
CD 140
D A D MP PPP A DD 120 A
B B DE 100 B
E C M PP C EE 80 C
72 A
D A D 60 B
B 50
48 C
42 A
E P C E 40
38 Band 1
35 B
D 30
28 C Band 2
E A 20
B 17
C 13
D 10
E 7

Key.
  • Prac. - CACHE Diploma Practical
  • Aw'd - BTEC Nationals Award
  • Cert. - BTEC Nationals Certificate
  • Dip. - BTEC Nationals Diploma
  • Adv Higher - Scottish Qualifications Advanced Higher
  • Int 2 - Scottish Qualifications Intermediate 2
  • Stand'd Grade - Scottish Qualifications Standard Grade
1 Covers the CACHE Diploma in Child Care and Education and comes into effect for entry to higher education in 2004 onwards.
2 Covers the newly specified BTEC National Award, Certificate and Diploma come into effect for entry to higher education in 2005 onwards.
3 Covers free-standing Mathematics qualifications - Using and Applying Statistics, Working with Algebraic and Graphical Techniques, Modelling with Calculus.

Core Skills4 Key Skills5 Institute of Financial Services Points Music Examinations8
Practical Theory
CFSP6 CeFS7 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8
75 D
70 M
Pass A 60 D
55 M P
B 45 D
40 M P
Level 4 30 D
25 P M
Higher Level 3 20 D P
17
15 D M
13
Int 2 Level 2 10 M P
7
5 P

4 The points shown are for each of the five Scottish Core Skills - Communication, Information Technology, Numeracy, Problem Solving & Working with Others.
5 The points shown are for each of the three Key Skill qualifications - Application of Number, Communication and Information Technology.
6 The points shown for the IFS Certificate in Financial Services Practice (CFSP) comes into effect for entry to higher education in 2004 onwards.
7 The points shown for the IFS Certificate in Financial Studies (CeFS) come into effect for entry to higher education in 2005 onwards.
8 The points shown are for ABRSM, Guildhall, LCMM and Trinity music examinations, grades 6, 7 and 8 and come into effect for entry to HE in 2004 onwards.

The above information is the copyright of UCAS