Which awarding body?

To help you decide which awarding body to apply to, this section gives a brief description of each one. To find details of the subjects and qualifications they offer, visit their websites in the contact us section.

AQA (the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) is the largest awarding body, with over half of the examination market and 750,000 students studying for its qualifications. In summer 2008 AQA will e-mark 2 million scripts and will collect up to 4.5 million marks electronically.

AQA normally requires at least three terms' teaching experience by the time of marking.

CCEA is Northern Ireland's leading awarding body. It also advises the Government on the province's schools and colleges curriculum and monitors the standards of the qualifications and examinations offered by the awarding bodies.

Edexcel has around 25 per cent of the overall exam market and 90 per cent of the vocational qualification market, with 400,000 students receiving BTEC qualifications each year. The board is leading developments in online marking.

OCR has around 25 per cent of the overall exam market, and a large international operation. More than 13,000 centres across this country offer OCR qualifications. OCR was the first awarding body to have GCSEs in vocational subjects accredited.

The Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) offers a range of academic and vocational qualifications as an awarding body and provides additional educational services.