Updated 18-September-2026
Headlines about the government's curriculum review have left some families unsure whether A-levels themselves are being overhauled. They're not, and knowing exactly what is and isn't changing matters more than another generic list of revision tips.
The government's response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published in late 2025, focuses its structural changes on GCSEs, with implementation from September 2028, not on A-levels. The one A-level-relevant item is exploratory: the government is looking into a new qualification in data science and AI for 16 to 18 year olds, alongside, not replacing, existing A-levels, with no confirmed implementation date. For a student currently studying or about to start A-levels, the practical answer is straightforward: the qualification itself, its structure and assessment, isn't changing under them.
A-levels have been fully linear since a reform introduced from first teaching in September 2015: every exam is sat at the end of the two-year course, with no mid-course assessment window, and AS levels, since decoupled, are now a separate qualification that doesn't count toward the final A-level grade at all. Students who assume there's a natural "reset point" partway through, the way GCSE coursework or modular exams once worked, are often caught off guard by how much a whole first-year topic still matters in a final exam eighteen months later. There's no equivalent of a January resit window to fall back on if a topic wasn't secure the first time round.
The jump isn't just harder content, it's a different kind of demand. GCSE answers are typically shorter and more directly mark-scheme-driven; A-level, particularly in essay-based subjects, expects sustained, structured argument across an extended response, and in maths and science subjects, multi-step problems that draw on content taught a year or more earlier without it being re-explained. Because there's no mid-course checkpoint, gaps from the first year don't get flagged by an exam until the final papers, which is exactly why an early diagnostic, rather than waiting until year two revision starts, matters more at A-level than it did at GCSE.
We've covered focus, sleep and revision technique in detail in our guide on study tips for GCSE and A-Level students, and subject choice in our guide on which A-level subjects actually matter for university. The piece missing from most advice is treating year one content as genuinely final, not provisional, precisely because linear assessment means it is.
Are A-levels being reformed in 2026 or 2027?
No structural change is confirmed. The government's Curriculum and Assessment Review response focuses on GCSE reform from September 2028; for A-levels, only an exploratory new data science and AI qualification for 16 to 18 year olds has been mentioned, alongside existing A-levels, not replacing them.
Do AS-level results count toward the final A-level grade?
No. Since the 2015 reform, AS levels have been decoupled and are a separate, stand-alone qualification that doesn't contribute to the A-level grade.
Is there a resit opportunity partway through an A-level course?
No. A-levels are fully linear, with all exams sat at the end of the two-year course, so first-year content is assessed alongside second-year content in the final exams rather than being tested and closed off earlier.
Our A-Level tuition programme treats first-year content as genuinely final from the start, with a free assessment identifying gaps early rather than waiting for year two.
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