Universities to snub A-levels

Universities see A-levels as so "dumbed down" they are setting their own English tests for aspiring law students.

Eight of the country's leading institutions are to use their own two-hour law examination, rather than A-level grades, to assess candidates' understanding of English.

The test will assess how well candidates analyse passages to make logical deductions.

They will have to answer 40 multiple-choice questions and write an essay.

The law schools said the exam, to be introduced in November next year, was designed to improve the selection process and make it fairer to candidates from different backgrounds-Rodney Austin, dean of University College London (UCL), in charge of law admissions, said more than 4,000 applications were expected this year for 150 places - and more than one third of the applicants would have three As or better at A-level. He said: "Even top A-level grades are not necessarily a good guide to future performance."

The eight institutions to use the new test are Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, East Anglia, Nottingham, Oxford and UCL. Exam papers will be marked by computer to save money.

A sample exam paper asked students to find an "unarticulated assumption" within an author's argument. Responding to concerns that candidates might not even understand the questions, admissions tutors said a sophisticated level of vocabulary and syntax was necessary for the study of legal concepts at university.

Mr Austin said the questions would be set by experienced examiners and tested on students before the exams. A website will also be set up to allow candidates to practise.

The new blow to the reputation of the A-level, once the country's "gold standard" qualification, comes three months after Oxford, Cambridge and UCL reintroduced entrance examinations for medical and veterinary students. The

Oxbridge universities said they were finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between high achievers after being overwhelmed by pupils with at least five As.

Admissions tutors believed another test was needed to select the top one or two per cent, following another recordbreaking year for A-levels when the ratio of A grades increased to 21.6 per cent.

The two-hour paper for medical and veterinary students was taken for the first time at Oxford, Cambridge-and UCL last November for entry this year. The Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT) was intended to give tutors more information before interviewing candidates.

Susan Stobbs, director of admissions for the Cambridge colleges, said: "Each year we have to turn away over 4,000 people with three or more As. A-levels are not always testing the things we need, such as logical thinking."