Go further with Oxford AQA
We bring out the best in students so they can achieve their potential and fulfil their dreams.
OxfordAQA brings together the educational expertise of two leading UK-based organisations: Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford, and AQA, the UK’s largest academic awarding body.
We were founded on the belief that all students deserve a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned – and this principle of Fair Assessment underpins our approach to everything we do. This means, for example, we focus on testing subject knowledge, not English comprehension or UK cultural contexts.
Our international qualifications are benchmarked to the UK equivalents, and designed specifically for students who live outside the UK and don’t speak English as their first language. Our specifications are relevant for tomorrow’s global citizens and will equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully progress to the next stage of their education or employment.
Since we were established in 2015, OxfordAQA has successfully delivered International GCSE, AS and A-Level examinations across the Middle East and Asia. The positive feedback we have received from our schools confirms that we have lived up to our Fair Assessment promise, with students finding the clarity of our papers enabled them to perform to the best of their abilities. In many cases, students’ results met or surpassed expectations. To read what teachers and students had to say about our international qualifications, please take a look at our feedback page.
At OxfordAQA we promise:
Globally relevant specifications
Our international qualifications are based on AQA’s, which are the most popular specifications in the UK, and have been specially developed for students studying in the Middle East and Asia. They feature internationally relevant content and assessments that are appropriate for students living outside the UK and are supported by quality resources and a network of regional consultants.
Fair assessments
We commit to offering Fair Assessment that enables every student to achieve their potential. The language and contexts we use in our exams only test students on their subject knowledge – not their English comprehension or UK cultural understanding. Our exam writers use a core vocabulary list called the Oxford3000™, which ensures that the words we use in our questions can be easily understood by students who don’t speak English as their first language.
UK Standards
Our International qualifications are aligned to the same high standards as the UK’s newly reformed GCSEs and A-levels. Our GCSEs use the new 9–1 grading scale that was introduced to reflect the more challenging content and changes to assessment design in the reformed qualifications. The new system provides greater differentiation between the higher levels of student performance and allows a grade 9 to be awarded for outstanding achievement. With more stretch at the top end of the ability range, genuinely outstanding students are given the recognition they deserve. Learn more about our 9-1 grades.
Get your students world ready
Developed with expert input from university academics, our international qualifications emphasise the application of knowledge, which allows students to apply their skills and understanding to unfamiliar contexts. This helps ensure a smooth progression from our international GCSE and A-levels to Higher Education.
We also offer two unique project-based qualification options: International GCSE Plus and the A-level standard Independent Project Qualification. These courses enable students to demonstrate learner independence, problem solving, creativity and research skills, which in turn enable them to stand out from the crowd when applying for universities. In addition, research shows that students with A-level standard project qualifications succeed better at university than other students.
Access to high quality resources
OxfordAQA provides teachers with all the support they need to teach our qualifications with confidence.
Resources include specification comparison documents, Schemes of Work, Specimen Assessment Resources and exam preparation tools such as Exampro™ and Enhanced Results Analysis™ (ERA). Oxford University Press textbooks are available to support each specification.
Exceptionally responsive support
Our regional consultants provide face-to-face support to all our schools, while subject expertise and exam administration guidance is provided via telephone, events and webinars. You can be confident you’ll receive all the information you need, when you need it.
To see out latest support events, visit oxfordaqaexams.org.uk/support/events
