Advanced Extension Awards (AEA) were introduced for Advanced level candidates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in summer 2002. AEAs are designed to challenge the most able Advanced level candidates by providing opportunities for them to demonstrate greater depth of understanding than is required at Advanced GCE.

The Extended Project can be used to replace AEA for any subject. The Extended Project can be tailored to any of the AEA subjects and still gives students the opportunity to demonstrate greater depth of understanding than is required at Advanced GCE in one of these subjects or in an area of personal interest. The Extended Project is 100% internally assessed and externally moderated, with assessment opportunities in January and June. It also carries UCAS points.

Perspectives on Science (PoS) is a Level 3 course designed to develop independent research and critical analysis skills and focusing on the history, philosophy and ethics of science.

The Extended Project can be tailored to look at different perspectives of science, whilst giving students the opportunity to demonstrate greater depth of understanding than is required at Advanced GCE. The Extended Project is 100% internally assessed and externally moderated, with assessment opportunities in January and June, and also carries UCAS points.

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The Level 3 Extended Project:The Perspectives on Science Model

Edexcel’s Level 3 Award in Religion and Contemporary Society (ARCS) is a free-standing qualification at Level 3, and is designed to develop students’ understanding of the connections between aspects of religion, citizenship and society.

The Extended Project follows the same assessment method as ARCS, with 100% coursework which is internally marked and externally moderated. There are more assessment opportunities with the Extended Project in January and June, allowing you more resit opportunities and enabling you to plan your students' workload around quieter times of the year.

At the moment the ARCS qualification does not carry any UCAS points, but by changing to the Extended Project your students can gain additional UCAS points to help with university places.