AS/A Level – Welsh Baccalaureate

A Level – Welsh Baccalaureate Course

Exam board: WJEC

A Level:9003Q0

The Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate is intended to allow students to build upon the essential and employability skills they have developed in Key Stage 4. Like the National Diploma it is based on three Skills Challenge Certificates and an Individual Project, alongside supporting qualifications.

The requirements of these must be met in order to achieve the overarching Welsh Baccalaureate. The Skills Challenge Certificate consists of three components which are followed by all learners:

• Enterprise and Employability Challenge (20%)
• Global Citizenship Challenge (15%)
• Community Challenge (15%)
• Individual Project (50%)

In addition all learners must complete an Individual Project (50%) of 3000-5000 words in which they research a topic related to their future career of course of study. In this aspect of the qualification learners develop research and analysis skills which help to prepare them effectively for higher education.

To achieve the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate learners must achieve the Skills Challenge Certificate at Advanced level together with supporting qualifications which must be achieved either during the course or
previously:

• GCSE English Language or GCSE Welsh Language at grade A* – C
• (alternatively legacy GCSE English Language and GCSE Welsh Language at grade A* – C are accepted until 2017)
• GCSE Mathematics – Numeracy at grade A* – C (alternatively legacy GCSE Mathematics at grade A* – C is accepted until 2017)

One of the following supporting qualifications options must be achieved during the
Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate programme:

• Two A levels at grade A*- E;
• One A level at grade A* – E and a Pass in one level 3 vocational qualification of at least 300 GLH;
• Pass grade in one or two level 3 vocational qualifications which total at least 600 GLH

The Welsh Baccalaureate aims to enable learners to develop and demonstrate an understanding of and proficiency in essential and employability skills. These are the skills that employers and next-stage educators value and which learners need for learning, work and life. The seven essential and employability skills are:

• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Digital Literacy
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Planning and Organisation
• Creativity and Innovation
• Personal Effectiveness

All three challenges and the project are assessed internally and learners’ work is then moderated by WJEC.

The Welsh Baccalaureate will:

• enable learners to consolidate and formalise learning of skills
• provide a theoretical underpinning of knowledge and techniques related to skills
• encourage reflection, analysis and articulation of the learner’s own proficiency in the skills
• engage learners in exploring, developing, practising and applying the skills
• increase confidence and effectiveness in the use and application of the skills in a range of meaningful and ‘real-life’ contexts and purposes

Full attendance is required.