In light of the new reforms to the A-level education system, the University of Cambridge is urging teenagers to continue to take four AS levels. From 2015, the modular system of AS levels will be scrapped and replaced by examinations which will take place at the end of the two year A-level course.

The Government claims that this new linear system, similar to what was in place before 2000, will allow for more lesson time that would previously have been lost preparing for AS level exams. This change will only happen in England, with Wales and Northern Ireland retaining the current system.

However, the AS level qualification will not disappear entirely. Candidates will still be able to sit an AS level in their chosen subject, but will have to re-learn and be re-tested on this information at the end of year 13.

In a letter to every school and college in the country, the University of Cambridge “strongly encourages” students to take AS levels, despite this not contributing to their overall grade. They claim that AS levels act as a “robust indicator” of a student’s ability and even suggest that taking the AS levels will put students at an advantage when applying to Cambridge.

Dr Mike Sewell, the Head of Admissions for the University states in his letter that AS levels “provide us with a strong measure of applicants’ recent academic progress”. He claims that as well as being useful to the university, sitting AS levels is also “of significant educational benefit”, and gives students an indication of how likely it is that their application may be successful.

Due to the changes, a large number schools and colleges were considering dropping the AS qualification altogether. Some have speculated that Dr Sewell’s letter is likely to lead to schools keeping AS levels, especially those in the private sector that are under pressure to send more students to Oxbridge. For students, this may mean taking unnecessary exams so as to not jeopardise their applications.

This letter has met with backlash from head teachers and journalists. Andrew Halls in the Telegraph described Cambridge’s move as demonstrating that they live in “cloud cuckoo land” when it comes to A-levels.

He described the advice as “impractical and unscholarly”, as he believes there is no sense of academic growth or evolution in Cambridge’s proposals. Secondary school educators have suggested that Cambridge’s stance on AS levels could end up pushing more applicants to its rival, the University of Oxford.

David Goodhew, head of Latymer Upper School in London, described Cambridge’s intervention as a “deeply depressing signal from one of our major academic institutions” and said that “all of this must be music to the ears of the admissions team at Oxford.”

This response from Cambridge is part of a wave of opposition the coalition government has faced over its educational reforms in the past two years. The new system of A-levels has been described as “rushed and incoherent,” with Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Leaders stating, “This is a classic case of fixing something that isn’t broken.”