Students outside the student number control in 2013-14: Exemptions list (updated January 2013)

The Government has requested that HEFCE no longer places controls on the recruitment to higher education (HE) of students with very high grades prior to entry. From 2013-14 onward, this group of students is defined as those who achieved grades of ABB, or above, at A-level, or the equivalent of this, and is referred to as the ‘ABB+ population’. 

This is the complete list of A-level grades and equivalences. Combinations of qualifications are not exempted from the student number control (for example, a student holding both a BTEC and an A-level).

We updated the list of exemptions below in January as part of the letter sent to all institutions detailing provisional student number control limits. 

This update clarifies that the adjustments to student numbers to reflect the new exemptions introduced for 2013-14 will be informed by 2010-11 (rather than 2011-12) HESA and ILR data. 

It also provides fuller explanation of the exemption related to students who are topping up from a full-time foundation degree or a full-time HND to an honours degree.

• More about ABB+ and student number controls

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