INFORMATION FOR FUTURE UNDERGRADUATE CANDIDATES
While doing your research on university entrance requirements, you will come across expressions like:

GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education): these are the examinations usually taken at the age of 16 after a two-year programme.

GCE 'A’ levels (General Certificate of Education Advanced levels): these are the final examinations taken at the age of 18 after two more years of further study. They provide access to UK higher education.

In the case of Belgian students wishing to study for a Bachelor degree at a UK university, these qualifications are normally not required if they hold the 'Certificat d'Enseignement Secondaire' or 'Diploma Secundair Onderwijs'.

WHAT ARE 'A-LEVELS'?
In the UK, after completing compulsory education at the age of 16, students may legally leave school and start work. Most, however, study for A-levels or equivalent qualifications which means they will specialise in three to five subjects.
Where the expression 'A-level' is found it may be compared to results of year six in secondary school in Belgium (zesde middelbaar/6ième humanité).
Within the British system of A-levels, pass grades are from A (the highest) to E (the lowest). Grade F is a fail.
It is important to keep in mind that there is no official equivalence between the Belgian and the British system. In the end institutions decide themselves how they compare the foreign grades to the British ones.

The following table is a rough guide only. It should not be taken as an 'official' equivalence:

Students with 12/20 or 13/20 therefore have considerably lower chances when applying for courses which require 'A's or 'B's - although this may depend on the subject or institution chosen.

UK SYSTEMS SELECT PEOPLE AND NOT JUST GRADES
However, we must point out an important aspect of the British higher education selection procedure: admission tutors assess candidates as individuals, each one with a particular profile, including their motivation. This means that marks are not the only important factor in an application process. On the application form there is a space where students are required to write about their reasons for choosing that particular course, as well as their career plans, hobbies, etc. There is another section where a teacher writes about candidates, recommending them to the admission tutor. These two texts as well as the information regarding the schoo or university marks will form the profile of the individual candidate.

INFORMATION FOR FUTURE POSTGRADUATE CANDIDATES
Belgian students interested in applying for a postgraduate course require a bachelor degree or equivalent for admission to a postgraduate course in the UK. They should keep the following in mind when applying:

Licencié/Licenciaat is considered comparable to British Bachelor (Honours) degree standard*
Belgian Bachelor degree (courses from 2004) is considered comparable to British Bachelor degree standard

*Source: UK NARIC

The following table is a rough guide only. It should not be taken as an 'official' equivalence:

For information on the equivalence of UK education qualifications in Belgium we advise you to download the following information sheet on Comparing UK to Belgian qualifications (MS Word 57KB)

CERTIFIED COPIES AND TRANSLATIONS
Holders of British Qualifications who need to send a certified copy of their qualifications for professional or study reasons may contact the consular Section of the British Embassy. For more information please download our Certified copies information sheet (MS Word 36KB)
If your diploma or certificate needs to be translated, you can contact a sworn translator from the British Embassy or obtain the complete list of sworn translators in Belgium by contacting the Rechtbank van de eerste aanleg/ Tribuneaux de première instance: www.cass.be