ABSTRACT
A levels have proved to be remarkably resilient. Despite incremental changes to their structure and modes of assessment, their original function —essentially that of selection and exclusion-has remained substantially unaltered throughout their unprecedented 50-year history. Recently modularized and reformulated into two distinct stages, A levels continue to cast an elitist shadow over their vocational counterparts, and to define the standards against which alternative qualifications are invariably judged.
