EXAM ENTRY CODES/ INFORMATION 2024/25

When entering for examinations it is very important that you as Private Candidates know exactly which exams you want to be entered for and that you are able to provide the correct information either for on-line booking or to the Examinations Officer at the centre where you hope to sit. If you seem confused or needy when you contact them the exam officer may refuse to help you. They are very busy people.

Exam codes go under a variety of names; syllabus code, specification code, entry code, course code, they all refer to the same thing.

Oxford Open Learning/Oxford Home Schooling provides entry details for you in the INTRODUCTION to each of the courses that you are studying. This is available to you from the moment you begin your course. Everyone should therefore, be aware of their entry codes and be able to provide them on request. If you are not sure about anything, our advisers are available to help.

For easy reference, below is a summary of all the subjects that we offer and their entry codes. However, if you use this table, please ensure that you choose the correct exam board (AQA or Edexcel) and the correct level (GCSE/IGCSE/A LEVEL). We do not accept responsibility for any wrong entries; it is your responsibility to get this right.

Remember, the correct information for your own individual course(s) will be in the front (Introduction) to your course materials. All the exams that we offer are “linear” and not “modular”.

AQA GCSE

  • *English Language, GCSE 8700, two written papers with an oral exam endorsement. Graded 1 to 9. This specification has *NEA assessment and the exam entry must usually be made with Oxford Open Learning. Please see NEA information on booking.
  • English Literature, GCSE 8702, two written papers, grades 1 to 9.
  • Mathematics, GCSE 8300 Higher/Foundation tier, no coursework, paper 1 (non calculator) paper 2 (calculator) paper 3 (calculator). F/ foundation grades are 1 to 5, H/ higher grades are 4 to 9.  (A* to G are no longer used.)
  • Psychology GCSE, 8182, no tier, no coursework, 2 written papers
  • Sociology GCSE, 8192, no tier, no coursework, 2 written papers

Mainly summer exams only, there will be resits  in November each year for Maths 8300 or English 8700, 16 years and over only.

EDEXCEL IGCSE

Edexcel IGCSEs have the same value as normal GCSE’s. Even though they are usually only used in independent schools they can still all be offered by virtually all state schools, so just make the enquiry.

Please note that French, German and Spanish orals are compulsory and an essential part of the exam. It is therefore more difficult and more expensive to find centres who are willing to offer these exams.

  • Biology, 4BI1, papers 1B and 2B, no tier, no coursework/no practical. Available in November and summer sittings.
  • Business Studies, 4BS1, paper 01 and 02, no tier, no coursework. Summer sitting and November.
  • Chemistry, 4CH1, papers 1C and 2C, no tier, no coursework/no practical. November and summer sittings.
  • Economics, 4EC1, paper 01 and 02, no tier, no coursework. November and summer sittings.
  • English Language, 4EA1, specification A, option A, papers 01 and 02, no tier, no coursework, no oral for our students. November and summer sittings.
  • English Literature, 4ET1, papers 01 and 02, no tier, no coursework. November and summer sittings.
  • French, 4FR1, papers 01 (listening) 02 (reading and writing) and 03 (oral) no tier or coursework. Summer and November sitting.
  • Geography, 4GE1, paper 01 and 02, no tier, no coursework. Summer sitting and November.
  • German, 4GN1 summer sitting only
  • History, 4HI1, paper 01, paper 02 no tier, no coursework. Summer and November sitting.
  • Human Biology, 4HB1, papers 01 and 02, no tier, no coursework/no practical. Summer and November sittings.
  • Mathematics,  4MA1, specification A, no coursework, students must choose to enter either Foundation, papers 1F and 2F or Higher tiers, papers 1H and 2H.  Summer and November sittings.
  • Physics, 4PH1, papers 1P and 2P, no tier, no coursework/no practical.  Summer and November sittings.
  • Science (double award), 4SD0, no tier, papers 1B, 1C and 1P, no coursework/no practical. Summer and November sittings.
  • Science (single award), 4SS0, no tier, papers 1B, 1C and 1P, no coursework/no practical. Summer and November exams only
  • Spanish, 4SP1, papers 01 (listening) 02 (reading and writing) and 03 (oral) no tier or coursework. Summer sitting only.
  • Most exams are available in summer and November.

OCR GCSE

  • Latin GCSE; J282, summer sitting only papers 01, 04 and 06

 

AQA  A LEVELS;

A level exams are only available in summer, they do not have Foundation or Higher tiers.

The A levels we offer are no longer modular. It is still possible to sit just the AS part of the exam, but it will be a “stand alone” qualification and unlike previously, it cannot be used towards the full A level. The AS level will have 2 papers which will not be the same as the A level exam papers.

You can only get a full A level by sitting all the required exams together at the same time, this will normally be three written papers covering both AS and what used to be known as the A2. Even if you have already taken and received a grade for the AS previously it is a stand alone qualification and it will not be allowed to count towards the full A level.

  • Business AS; 7131, papers 1 and 2
  • Business A level; 7132, papers 1, 2 and 3

 

  • Economics AS; 7135, papers 1 and 2
  • Economics A level; 7136, papers 1, 2 and 3

 

  • Law AS level; 7161, papers 1 and 2
  • Law A level; 7162, papers 1, 2 and 3

 

  • Mathematics AS level; 7356, papers 1 and 2
  • Mathematics A level; 7357, papers 1, 2 and 3

 

  • Psychology AS; 7181, papers 1 and 2
  • Psychology A level; 7182, papers 1, 2 and 3

 

  • Sociology AS; 7191; papers 1 and 2
  • Sociology A level; 7192, papers 1, 2 and 3

Those subjects which are partly assessed by *NEA (that is,  full A level English Language, English Literature and History, but not AS level) should usually only be entered through Oxford Open Learning or Tutors and Exams if you have one nearby. Please see “NEA Guidelines” for further information.

  • English Language AS; 7701, papers 1 and 2
  • *English Language A level; 7702, papers 1, 2 and C, the *NEA unit

 

  • English Literature AS; specification A, 7711, papers 1 and 2,
  • *English Literature A level; specification A; 7712B (option 2B) papers 1, 2 and C the *NEA unit

 

  • History AS; 7041GQ, papers 1 and 2
  • *History A level; 7042GQ, papers 1, 2 and C the *NEA unit

NEA

English Language, English Literature and History ( the full A Level not AS level) all have an NEA or coursework unit and entries for these subjects only, should be made through The Oxford Open Learning Trust.  Please see “NEA GUIDELINES” for full information.

 

All students studying English, English Literature and History A levels will need to complete NEA Candidate Record forms. They can be downloaded from the AQA website by subject. There are Candidate Record forms for each subject and History students may also need a Question Approval form. Please discuss this with your tutor or Student Adviser.

English Language A level

English Literature A level

History A level

 

 

EDEXCEL A LEVELS

The exam requirements for Edexcel AS or A level are the same as for AQA  A levels, described above. This means that an AS grade cannot contribute towards a full A level taken at a different date. The AS is a stand alone qualification.

  • Biology AS 8BI0, papers 1 and 2
  • Biology A level, 9BI0, papers 1, 2, 3 and paper 4 is the practical endorsement

We assume that most students will not want to take the practical endorsement as it is very expensive and difficult to organise. If any students feel they need the practical then please discuss where it is offered and the cost with your Student Adviser.

If anyone is having trouble finding an exam centre, please contact our helpful and experienced team of advisers.