The Technical Level, or more commonly, the Tech Level, is a school leaving qualification offered by educational bodies in the United Kingdom to students completing secondary or pre-university education. Tech-Levels are the vocational equivalent of the A-levels and is generally required for university entrance. Tech-Levels are generally worked towards over two years and split into a number of parts, with one part studied in each year. The first part is known as the Certificate Level. The second part is known as the Diploma Level and is more in depth and rigorous than the Certificate Level. The Certificate Level is a qualification in its own right, and the Certificate Units combined with the Diploma units forms the complete Technical Level qualification.
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Current usage
A number of countries use Tech Levels as a school leaving qualification, but commonly used in the United Kingdom & Ireland.
United Kingdom
Technical Levels are the secondary school leaving qualification offered in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, Technical Levels are also offered by selected schools as an alternative school-leaving qualification in place of the Scottish Advanced Higher. The five main examination boards which administer British Technical Levels in the UK are: