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A-level Travel and Tourism

Withdrawal of Applied A-level Travel and Tourism

As previously notified, AQA is withdrawing the double awards at the end of the summer 2012 exam series. There will, however, be a re-sit opportunity for the externally assessed units (TT05 and TT11) in January 2013.

The single awards will be withdrawn at the end of the summer 2013 exam series. There will, however, be a re-sit opportunity for the externally assessed units (TT01 and TT09) in January 2014.

June 2012 exams update:
Exam tips – how students can make best use of answer books

June 2012 Travel and Tourism

Unit code	Title	Numbering system	Type of answer book	No pp	Provided by student
TT01	Inside Travel and Tourism	Conventional	Combined	n/a
TT05	Marketing in Travel and Tourism	Conventional	Combined	n/a	Clean copy of TT05/PM
TT09	Travel and Tourism ? People and Quality	New (01,02, etc)	Separate	4 x 8
TT11	Impacts of Tourism	Conventional	Combined	n/a	Clean copy of TT11/PM

General advice

Students should:

read all instructions on the front cover and at the start of each section of the question paper
read each question carefully before responding, especially where there are optional question(s)
remember that questions can appear on all pages of a question paper, including the final page.

Combined question paper answer books

Students should look at the number of marks and the line space allocated to each question and write answers of an appropriate length.

If a student needs more space to answer a question, they must:
either use the white space immediately beneath the lined answer space and before the start of the next question
or ask for an AQA four-page Supplementary answer book.

They should not:

use the answer space for a different question
write in the margin
respond elsewhere in the answer book.

Separate answer books and the two-digit numbering system

Students worked well with the two-digit numbering system and separate answer books in 2011 exams; thank you for ensuring that the guidance was applied successfully. We have updated our guides for students, teachers and exams officers / invigilators to reflect the general advice given above.

Further information

A reminder: question paper style and marking answers on screen
Exams with separate question papers and answer books (unconstrained answer books) will use:

our simplified, two-digit question numbering system
answer books with spaces for students to write the two-digit question numbers.

For additional guidance see:

Question papers and mark schemes:

Summer 2011 materials are available to schools / colleges in the Secure Key Materials area of e-AQA
Specimen materials are available from the subject pages of aqa.org.uk

Examples of students' work:

AQA Research team papers:

Marking answers on screen

New AQA Numbering System

Nested Numbering

Withdrawal of Applied A-levels

Further to previous messages, we have reviewed the take-up of Applied A-levels, and due to the falling demand from schools and colleges, we are withdrawing the following double awards at the end of the summer 2012 exam series:

Travel and Tourism (Double Award) (8653) Advanced Subsidiary
Travel and Tourism (8657) Advanced and Advanced Subsidiary (additional)
Travel and Tourism (Double Award) (8659) Advanced
Leisure Studies (Double Award) (8643) Advanced Subsidiary
Leisure Studies (8647) Advanced and Advanced Subsidiary (additional)
Leisure Studies (Double Award) (8649) Advanced

These double award units and certification will be available for the last time in summer 2012.The single award units and certification will continue to be offered beyond summer 2012.

We intend to replace Applied Business and Health and Social Care with amended and updated specifications for first teaching in September 2012 and a new specification for Applied Science for first teaching in September 2013. We are investigating alternative qualifications in the Applied Art and Design area of study. There are currently no plans to replace the Applied ICT, Leisure Studies or Travel and Tourism specifications.

The following timelines will apply to these changes:

The following awards will be withdrawn at the end of the summer 2013 exam series:

There will, however, be a re-sit opportunity for the externally assessed units in each of the above qualifications in January 2014.

The following award will be withdrawn at the end of the summer 2014 exam series:

Applied Science

There will, however, be a re-sit opportunity for the externally assessed units in January 2015.

We advise schools and colleges to contact the relevant Subject Manager if they wish to discuss possible alternatives to these qualifications.

Subject managers and contact details

Subject	Subject manager	Telephone	e-mail
Applied Art and Design	Julie Clark	01483 47 7847	e-mail Julie
Applied Business	Rodney Short	01483 47 7720	e-mail Rodney
Applied ICT	Richard Horne	0161 958 3767	e-mail Richard
Applied Science	Jamie Drummond	0161 958 3743	e-mail Jamie
Health and Social Care	Diane Grimshaw	0161 958 3877	e-mail Diane
Leisure Studies	Mark Cowell	01483 55 6041	e-mail Mark
Travel and Tourism	Mark Cowell	01483 55 6041	e-mail Mark

Withdrawal of Double Award Qualifications

Centres are advised that, regrettably, due to falling entries, AQA is withdrawing the following awards after the conclusion of the summer 2012 exam series:

Travel and Tourism (Double Award) (8653) Advanced Subsidiary
Travel and Tourism (8657) Advanced and Advanced Subsidiary (additional)
Travel and Tourism (Double Award) (8659) Advanced.

This means that the final exam series in which the double award units and certification will be available is summer 2012.

The single award units and certification will continue to be offered beyond summer 2012.

2012 Specification

The specification for examinations in 2012 is now available under Key Materials. Changes from the previous specification are side-barred. Availability of units can be found on page 14. Changes to subject content can be found on page 32 to 36 for Unit 1, page 62 for Unit 6 and page 86 for Unit 10.

Secure Key Materials

Secure Key Materials is a new e-AQA service which replaces Recent Exam Materials from 1 September. It provides teachers and Exams Officers with exclusive access to a bank of exam-related material that is:

secure
easy to navigate
quick to use
intuitive, based on the design of our website.

Please read our new leaflet and look at the following demo to find out more about this new service.

To obtain an e-AQA account and access to Secure Key Materials, please register at e-AQA. For more information about the materials published on Secure Key Materials, please don't hesitate to contact the Subject team.

Preparatory folders

The Principal Examiner for TT09 may ask centres for a sample of candidates' preparatory folders for inspection by the Committee that awards grades. Studying these folders with the candidates' examination papers helps inform the awarding process, and ensure fairness across the entry.

The content and organisation of the folders has improved steadily over recent years. Teachers and students are to be congratulated on this improvement. However, there is one area of concern. The specification states the folders should contain '...only notes written by you (the student) and material produced by your chosen organisation, which you have gathered...'

So, folders should not include:

teacher produced notes
past exam papers and the accompanying mark schemes
student produced answers to questions from past papers
extracts from text books.

Some material can be ambiguous in certain cases. For instance, examples have been seen where:

the teacher and the staff of the chosen leisure facility have worked closely together to produce hand-outs that are very carefully tailored to the demands of the course
students have worked together closely, after their visits, to produce notes, PowerPoint presentations, etc, which have then been shared.

These materials are acceptable provided they include a clear reference to their source/authorship if concerns over their validity are possible.

Such acknowledgement removes any suspicion of malpractice.

If there is any doubt over the validity of any material students wish to include, please contact us.

New mailbox address
(Examinations Update 8)

Centres should note an important change in the offer of double award external assessment opportunities with effect from January 2011.

In January 2011 and subsequent January examination series, only the single award units TT01 and TT09 will be available for assessment. In June 2011 and subsequent January examination series, all units will be available for assessment. A summary of availability is displayed below.

	Availability of units		Availability of qualification
	AS	A2	AS	A2
January 2010	TT01	TT09
	TT05	TT11
June 2010	All AS units	All A2 units
January 2011	TT01 only	TT09 only
June 2011	All AS units	All A2 units

You are advised that preparatory folders for TT09 should not be sent to examiners at the end of the two week assignment period (unless otherwise instructed by AQA). The preparatory folders should be collected at the end of the controlled conditions sessions and kept securely until the last date for Enquiry about Results.

Portfolio Advisers

We have sent details of Portfolio Advisers for this academic year to all centres on our database. If you have not received this information or need clarification about your Portfolio Adviser, please e-mail: leisureandtourism@aqa.org.uk. If you are a new centre or new to teaching this subject and need to know details of your Portfolio Adviser, please e-mail: leisureandtourism@aqa.org.uk.

01483 477 867

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