高中 | A-Level、AP、HKDSE课程应该如何选择？

被誉为世界三大国际课程体系的A-Level课程，是英国普通中等教育证书考试高级水平课程，也是英国学生的大学入学考试课程。在一般情况下，学生会通过2年的课程学习（11和12年级）参与剑桥国际考试（CAIE），并由此申请包含英国G5大学在内的本土顶尖院校，又或是获得进入美国、加拿大、澳洲等世界高等学府的资格。

对于中国学生来说A-Level课程不仅仅能为其带去“全球通行能力”，课程整体的框架也更偏向应试教育，十分适合那些单科能力突出，或应试能力较强的学生。在A-Level拥有的70多门学科中（包含文科、商科、经济、语言、数学、理科、计算、法律、媒体、音乐等），学生只需参与三门或四门主科课程并通过对应考试即可获得对应文凭。

CAIE采用百分比的方式计算，学生的成绩将最终分为A*、A、B、C等等级。据目前英国各大高校发布的相关入学标准，学生的成绩只需处于A*A*A - ABB中间即可进行申请。

* 部分英国Top10大学A-Level分数要求：

对于如此出挑的国际课程，中山阿丁莱也选择将其作为孩子们走向世界的一条关键通道。从G11-G12阶段开始，学校就将为孩子们提供多门可以自主选的优质A-Level课程：

AP课程是美国和加拿大等国开设的高级先修课程，由美国大学理事会（College Board）赞助和授权的高中先修性大学课程，也可用于申请世界范围内的多所名校。综合来说，AP课程更适合一些具备优秀学习能力的学生，不但可以在申请的时候作为学术能力证明，还可以在大学进行学分换算，降低教育成本，实现跳级选课，缩短大学教育时间。

虽然AP课程难度普遍较高，但对于数学能力普遍突出的中国学生来说，其实是占尽优势。例如AP微积分，其不仅仅是所有AP学科中含金量最高的课程，能够重点受到各所大学的青睐，更重要的是AP微积分更覆盖了众多大学的理科专业，包括物理、化学、经济学等都会在一定程度上涉及微积分的知识。因此学生在学习AP的过程中，同时也减轻了一部分大学的学业压力。

AP考试的成绩使用5分制度，考生会根据其能力获得不同的对应分数，获得三分或三分以上的成绩还可以在大学换取学分。

* 部分世界知名大学AP分数要求：

与国内许多国际学校又或是公立学校国际班一样，中山阿丁莱同样也为高中年级的孩子们提供多种AP课程以及专业的课程老师。覆盖艺术类、英语类、历史与社会科学类、数学与计算机科学类、自然科学类、世界语言与文学类，以及顶石文凭项目类的选择，将帮助孩子们在大学申请及大学学习中脱颖而出：

HKDSE课程（香港中学文凭），每年由香港考试及评核局主办的公开考试，也是目前唯一可以用中文答题的国际考试。HKDSE考试的成绩其实拥有着极高的含金量，不仅仅可以用于香港本土各大高校的申请（在《2023QS世界大学排名》中香港共有5所大学跻身Top 100），还可以申请海外（包含英国、美国、加拿大、澳洲、法国、德国、新加坡、日本等国家在内）超过400所的国外高校，因此该考试又被称为“黄金高考”。

相较于中国高考，HKDSE课程最显著的优势就是竞争压力较小。其课程方面除了与内地大纲的重合度比较高，课程衔接较为容易，还可以避开国内日益见涨的“内卷压力”，其较低的试卷难度和较少的报考人数更是让学生的竞争压力达到理想化的状态。

HKDSE课程制度更加人性化考试结果采用水平参考评分制：DSE的五个等级【1-5级】，第5级为最高等级，获第5级的考生中表现最佳会获得【5**】，随后表现较佳的则以【5*】表示，表现低于第1级的会标示【不予评价】。而成绩也可以保留一年，那些没考好的科目还可以在第二年继续参与考试。

* 英国G5大学HKDSE分数要求：

充分具备国际元素的HKDSE课程是中山阿丁莱经过多方教育评估为学生开辟的一条全新升学通路，孩子们不仅仅能够有机会前往香港名校的机会，更能获得例如剑桥大学、牛津大学、耶鲁大学等世界顶尖学府为其抛来的橄榄枝。目前，学校预计开放的HKDSE课程有：

承袭全球IB混校排名前10的顶尖院校阿丁莱学院（Ardingly College）的教育基因，中山阿丁莱一直通过具有前瞻性和高学术成就的幼儿园到高中一贯制全人教育模式，为2-18岁的学生提供面向未来的个性化教育，以及最适合其未来发展的多元升学通路。

As a 15-year private international school with the DNA of a world-renowned school, Ardingly College Zhongshan provides students with the best education in the Bay Area through a holistic education that blends the best of East and West. In addition to gaining unique and solid academic skills in the early years of their studies, students will also be able to excel in their further academic careers both in China and overseas through the school's multi-track pathway at high school.

Known as one of the top three international curriculums in the world, A-Level(General Certificate of Education Advanced Level) is the university entrance exam for UK students. In general, students take the Cambridge International Examinations (CAIE) through 2 years of study (Years 11 and 12), which leads to applications to top local institutions, including G5 universities in the UK, or to qualifications for entry to higher education institutions in the world, such as the USA, Canada and Australia.

For Chinese students, the A-Levels not only provide a 'global competence', but the overall framework of the programme is also more exam-oriented, making it ideal for students who have a high level of ability in a single subject, or a strong test-taking ability. With over 70 subjects (including arts, business, economics, languages, mathematics, science, computing, law, media, music, etc.), students only need to take three or four main subjects and pass the corresponding exams to obtain the corresponding diploma.

A-Level students take two tests over two years, with an additional make-up test in the first year, which provides an additional opportunity for students who are nervous or who do not perform well.

A-Level students take two tests over two years, with an additional make-up test in the first year, which provides an additional opportunity for students who are nervous or who do not perform well.

* A-Level score requirements for some of the top 10 universities in UK:

AP courses are Advanced Placement courses offered in countries such as the United States and Canada, and are sponsored and authorised by the College Board as high school prerequisite college courses that can also be used to apply to a number of prestigious universities around the world. Overall, AP courses are more suitable for students with excellent academic ability, not only as proof of academic ability when applying, but also for credit conversion in college, reducing the cost of education, enabling grade skipping and shortening the time spent on college education.

Although AP courses are generally more difficult, they are actually advantageous for Chinese students who generally excel in mathematics. For example, AP Calculus is not only the most prestigious course among all AP subjects and can focus on receiving favourable treatment from universities, but more importantly, AP Calculus also covers many university science majors, including physics, chemistry and economics, which all involve calculus knowledge to some extent. As a result, students are able to take AP Calculus while relieving some of the academic pressure of university.

AP courses have one exam per year and each exam will be divided into two parts: the first part will be multiple-choice and the second part will be a free-response paper. The content of each exam will vary depending on the subject and students can choose the exams according to their needs.

AP exams are scored using a 5-point system, with candidates receiving different scores depending on their ability, and a score of three or more can be redeemed for credit at university. 

* AP score requirements for some famous universities:

The HKDSE (Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education) is an annual public examination administered by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and is currently the only international examination that can be answered in Chinese. It is also known as the "golden entrance exam" as it can be applied to over 400 overseas universities (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, Japan and other countries).

The most significant advantage of the HKDSE programme over the Chinese College Entrance Examination is that it is less competitive. In addition to a high degree of overlap with the mainland syllabus, the course is easy to articulate and avoids the increasing pressure of "internal papers" in China.

The HKDSE programme has four main subjects (three of which are chosen from the Chinese, English, Mathematics and Citizenship and Social Development) and a number of electives. Students are allowed to answer all exams in Chinese except for the English papers, and the exams are scheduled in a more spread out manner, giving students plenty of time to prepare. The examinations are also based on the assessment of students' overall ability, rather than subject knowledge as the only criterion, and students can obtain a more objective examination mark.

The HKDSE course system is more user-friendly exam results are graded using a level-referenced grading system: there are five levels of DSE [Levels 1-5], with Level 5 being the highest level, and the best performance of those awarded Level 5 will receive a [5**], followed by a [5*] for better performance, and [No Assessment] for performance below Level 1. The results can also be retained for one year, and those subjects that are not successful can be taken again the following year. (The following are the requirements for G5 schools in the UK in terms of HKDSE scores)

* HKDSE score requirements for UK's G5 universities:

In keeping with the educational DNA of Ardingly College, UK, one of the world's top 10 IB co-edu schools, Ardingly College Zhongshan has been providing students aged 2-18 with a future-oriented, personalised education and a diverse pathway to the best possible future through a forward-thinking and academically successful whole-person education model from kindergarten to high school.