GCE Ordinary Level

The O Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced as part of British educational reform in the 1950s alongside the more in-depth and academically rigorous A-level (official title of qualification: General Certificate of Education - Advanced Level) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Those three jurisdictions replaced O Levels gradually with General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education exams over time. The Scottish equivalent was the O-grade (replaced by the Standard Grade). The O Level qualification is still awarded by CIE Cambridge International Examinations, the international counterpart of the British examination Board OCR (Oxford, Cambridge & Royal Society of Arts), in select locations, instead of or alongside the International General Certificate of Secondary Education qualifications. Both CIE and OCR have Cambridge Assessment as their parent organisation. The Cambridge O Level has already been phased out, however, and is no longer available in certain administrative regions.