The British-administered A-Levels course comes in many shapes and sizes. Generally however, most countries use the exact same A-Levels course and examinations that the British use. For example, the Cambridge GCE A-Levels and Edexcel A-Levels are available in Malaysia - at institutions like Taylor’s College and HELP Institute, respectively. The couse materials and tests taken are no different from what a British student would take in the United Kingdom.

However, Singapore has deviated just a little. The Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Levels is managed by both Cambridge and the Singapore Ministry of Education (more specifically, one of its departments), resulting in not only a longer course, but a more difficult one in many respects.

A standard A-Levels course runs for one and a half years, ending in the June examinations, but the Singapore GCE A-Levels is a two-year course, ending in late November. While the conventional Cambridge A-Levels utilises a two-part examination system, i.e. AS-Level (Advanced Subsidiary-Level) and A-Level (Advanced-Level), Singapore’s version comes with only one major examination at the end of the course. London Board A-Levels, such as the one administered by Edexcel, are even more progressive, in the sense that examinations are modular. This comes with the advantage that if you were to fail a few tests in one sitting, you could resit them in the next. Of course, the disadvantage is that you’ll have to undergo far more examinations.

On more trivial grounds, the number of papers taken for each subject is different, with conventional A-Levels generally having one or two more papers per subject compared to the Singapore A-Levels. Of course, the Singapore A-Levels compensates with generally tougher questions.

Even the marking schemes are different. The Singapore A-Levels has a setup where 70 marks is defined as an A, while Edexcel has an A at 80 marks, but please remember the relative difficulty of the questions given before commenting on this grading difference. Generally, questions from Singapore’s version of the A-Levels explore a particular theory or concept to a deeper level.

Most importantly perhaps is the number of subjects offered. The Singapore A-Levels provides only a functional core of subjects, such as Mathematics, Further Mathematics, the sciences, History, Geography, and Literature at A-Level, while providing the languages and a few core subjects at an easier level, known as the AO-Level. The AO-Level is somewhat similar in concept to the AS-Level, but the difficulty of AO-Level subjects - like the General Paper - cannot be underestimated (unlike subjects at AS-Level).

Conventional A-Levels come with a wider variety of subjects, including Accounting, Law and Sociology. This is in line with the different mentalities and aims of the British and Singaporeans. As most of us well know, the British aim for a more holistic educational experience while Singaporeans are famed for their sheer focus towards Mathematics and Sciences. But as the Singapore Government revamps their education system towards the broader American system of education (though still utilising the Cambridge A-Levels system for now), I’m sure this will change.

Well, that’s a few of the differences between the conventional A-Level courses you’ll find in Britain and Malaysia, and the localised Singapore version of the A-Levels. There are a few other differences, including ‘Special’ Papers (Singapore) and Advanced Extension Awards (Britain), but we’ll leave that for another day.