Calling all Brits . . . . can someone please explain "O" levels and "A" levels and whatever other levels you all have?

They’re now known as GCE’s (General Certificate of Education)
O levels meant Ordinary level, while A levels were Advanced level.
Yes that’s right, the powers that be are obsessed with abbreviations.

In the UK you enter “high school” or secondary school at the age of 11 and have to stay until you are 16.

O-levels were the exams you took at the age of 16, however they have since been replaced by GCSE’s. After sitting these exams you were then free to leave the school system.

If you stay on at school then A-levels are one of the exams you can take at the age of 18. They are at more advanced level and yhey are the most common qualifications for entrance in to universtiy to study for a degree.

He has been asked to read ‘science’ – To read is an old term meaning to study, usually in regards to degree level education. So if you are reading science at Oxford then you are studying science at degree level at Oxford university.

O-levels and A-levels are also slang terms for oral and anal sex usually in reference to services offered by a prostitute.

So you sit for (and presumably pass) A levels to be ABLE to attend university?

Basically yes. Universities can offer places based on the results of a number qualifications but for most students looking to go to university directly after school then a-levels are required.

That is the general point of A-levels. Not many people would start A-levels with no intention of going to uni.

Well, that was before they tripled tuition fees last year, who knows how fucked the next generation will be? uni isn’t worth the money for a lot of people now.

Yeah, and O-levels have been replaced by GCSEs.

General pattern:
Y1-Y6 (5–11) Primary School,
General compulsory education
Y6–11 (11–16) Secondary School,
GCSEs taught and taken in the final two years (Y10–11) general synoptic qualifications in compulsory subjects (~10–12+)
Y12–13 (16–18) Sixth Form,
teaches and examines A-levels, more specific chosen subjects (3~5), designed generally for uni admission.

Side Note: Sixth Form is so called, because traditionally the numbering of years restarted on entrance to Secondary School, so Year 6s would be First Years, Year 11s would be Fifth Years, and so anyone who stayed beyond that would be in the Sixth Form.

Generally, university applications are done by students, whilst studying their A-levels in Sixth Form (or at a separate (non-degree awarding) college). They receive “conditional offers” from universities, meaning they will be accepted, provided they achieve the target A-level grades, set by the university.

@Lightlyseared How confusing. The English language has so many terms for which you must know the context before you recognize the meaning of the word.

@Sunny2 I may be just too innocent, but I was oblivious to that interpretation of the terms, and I’m in the UK – it’s not that confusing over here!

O levels are obsolete now and replaced by GCSEs. A levels still exist; they are basically university entrance exams, taken at age 18. I couldn’t go to university because I failed my A levels.