A level
6
5.4
- noun
- /ˈeɪ ˈlɛvəl/
- UK
:
nivel A
- He was proud to tell his family that he achieved an A in his A level chemistry course.
- A-level students
- achieve a level
- reach a level
So did my A levels, one of them being a biology a level.
- So did my A levels, one of them being a biology a level.
- But when they're doing their GCC's and A Levels, they frigging need mum.
- sweeper and a dustman and then working, going, going to night school and I was doing politics, a level, a level politics I was doing.
Examples
-
Jenny got two As and a B in her mock A-levels.
-
I can confirm that GCS, ES A Levels and AS Level exams will not go ahead this summer.
-
So did my A levels, one of them being a biology a level.
-
I mean, he got good grades for his three A-levels.
-
Five shillings an hour, maybe a little more for A-level.
-
After two years of studying biology, she finally passed her A level exam with top marks.
-
Many students in England take their A levels at the end of secondary school to qualify for university.
How Advanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term 'A level' (A‑level) is an institutional name for a specific UK academic qualification and not a literal composition of the letter 'A' + the noun 'level'. A B1 learner who knows the words 'A' and 'level' would not reliably infer the meaning 'an advanced qualification taken at age 18' because the use of 'A' here is arbitrary and language-specific, so the expression is not transparently derivable from its parts.
Etymology
A level comes from the phrase 'Advanced Level' and from the idea of the letter A marking a higher school 'level' after the old 'O level'. Imagine a ladder where the A step is above the others; that's why A levels mean the advanced exams students take at about 18 to go to university.