Quick answer: yes. You can study A Levels entirely online in the UK and sit the exams as a private candidate. The qualification is identical to the one sat in schools: the same specification, the same papers, the same certificate from the awarding body and the same UCAS points. What changes is where you study and who arranges the exam. At Lift College you choose from 11 online A Levels and study online with a named UK tutor from £449.99 a year or £49.99 a month when you pay today, and on the +Exams plan Lift College enters you and books your seat at one of ten Tutors & Exams centres in England, with the entry and centre fees included. Exams are sat in person in the May/June series each year; no A Level can be sat online. You can pay today and save up to 17% on every payment, or take the 7-day free trial with nothing charged until day 8; either way there is no contract and no credit check, and the courses are open to anyone aged 14 or over (under 18s enrol with a parent or guardian's permission and support).
How online A Levels work for adults
Online A Levels follow the same specification and assessment as school A Levels. The difference is delivery, not content or outcome. At Lift College the course runs like this:
- Study material: every topic in the specification, with marked exam-style tasks at the end of every unit and written feedback from your tutor within 5 to 7 working days.
- Tutor support: the same named UK tutor from enrolment through to your exam series, plus AI Study Support for questions as you work.
- Pace: there is no minimum study time. Most learners spend 8 to 12 hours a week and finish a subject in 12 to 18 months, or faster if they study more each week. See fast track A Levels online if you need the grade next summer.
- Exam readiness: a timed mock paper and a written summary of what to focus on before you are entered.
- Exams: sat in person, as a private candidate, at an approved centre in the May/June series. All papers for a subject are sat in the same series, and any non-exam assessment is submitted in the same year.
Our guide to A Levels as a mature student covers the experience of returning to study.
Where do you sit the exams?
Always in person. Providers handle this in one of two ways: they book a seat for you at a partner centre and include the fees, or they leave you to find a centre that accepts private candidates and pay it directly. Our guide to A Level private exam centres explains the second route in detail.
At Lift College every A Level has two plans, and the sciences have a third:
- Study (£449.99 a year or £49.99 a month when you pay today; £59.99 a month or £611.99 a year after the 7-day free trial): the full course, your named UK tutor, marked practice, mock papers and AI Study Support. You arrange your own exam entry as a private candidate; exam entry is only on +Exams.
- +Exams: everything in Study plus your awarding body entry and Tutors & Exams centre fees, with your seat booked for you at a centre in Birmingham, Bolton, Coventry, Doncaster, High Wycombe, Mitcham, Newcastle, Romford, St Neots or Taunton. Monthly +Exams has a 9-month expected term because exam fees are built in; you can cancel any time with no exit fee, but unused exam credit is forfeited and unbooked exams are void. No term applies if you pay annually.
- +Exams & CPAC, Biology, Chemistry and Physics only: everything in +Exams plus the CPAC practical endorsement, assessed at a Tutors & Exams laboratory venue against the Common Practical Assessment Criteria and reported separately as a Pass on your certificate. The same 9-month expected term applies on Monthly.
Full details are on the online A Levels page and the funding and costs page, with examples such as A Level Biology and A Level Mathematics.
Which subjects can you do online?
Lift College teaches 11 A Levels online, all of them the specifications sat in UK schools: Biology (AQA 7402), Business Studies (AQA 7138), Chemistry (AQA 7405), English Language (AQA 7702), English Literature (AQA 7717), Film Studies (WJEC Eduqas A670QS), History (AQA 7042), Mathematics (AQA 7357), Physics (AQA 7408), Psychology (AQA 7182) and Sociology (AQA 7192).
Seven of the 11 have an element that is not a written paper. English Language, English Literature and History have a non-exam assessment worth 20%, and Film Studies has a production worth 30%; at Lift College you complete these with your named tutor's guidance, they are marked and then moderated by the awarding body, and submitted before the written papers. Biology, Chemistry and Physics have the separately reported practical endorsement described above, which does not affect your grade but which universities usually ask for on science degree courses.
Online A Level providers: what to look for
Several UK providers deliver A Levels online, each with a different model. If price is your first filter, cheapest online A Level courses UK compares the same six providers on full course fees, exam fees and tutor support as read on 21 October 2026. When comparing, ask:
- Is exam entry included in the price, and who books the centre? On 11 October 2026 Lift College (+Exams) and Open Study College (exam packages) included entry and centre fees in a published price; NEC, ICS Learn, CloudLearn and Oxbridge Home Learning charged exam fees separately.
- Which specification? Providers teach different boards for the same subject. If you are resitting, match the one you sat before. See exam boards and recognition.
- Who marks your work, and how fast? A named tutor who returns marked practice within days is worth more than a library of videos.
- Can you try it first, and can you leave? Lift College's 7-day free trial charges nothing until day 8 and every payment carries a 14-day money-back guarantee; most fixed-fee providers offer neither a trial nor a cancellable monthly plan.
Our comparison of the best online A Level courses in the UK sets the six main providers side by side, with a subject-by-subject table for each of the 11 subjects linked from the hub.
Timelines: how long an online A Level takes
Most Lift College learners spend 8 to 12 hours a week and finish a subject in 12 to 18 months. The fixed point is the exam: A Levels are examined once a year, in May/June, so your real deadline is the awarding body's entry deadline for the series you want. On +Exams Lift College enters you before that deadline for the series you are ready for. If you miss a series, the next is the following summer; there is no autumn series for A Levels.
Timelines depend on prior knowledge (each course page gives a recommended starting point, usually a GCSE grade 5 or 6 in the subject, which is recommended rather than required) and on how many subjects you take at once.
Do universities accept online A Levels?
Yes. UCAS and universities assess the grade and subject on the certificate issued by the awarding body; the certificate does not say where you studied, and online A Levels earn the same UCAS tariff points (up to 56 per A Level at A*). Some competitive courses ask for particular subjects, grades or the science practical endorsement, so check the entry requirements of the course you want. Private candidates can apply through UCAS as independent applicants.
Costs compared
The main UK providers charged full course fees of £440 to £730 per subject on the subjects Lift College teaches before exam fees on 21 October 2026, from ICS Learn (£440) to NEC (£730); Open Study College also sells packages with exams included. At Lift College a Study year is £449.99 when you pay today, before exam fees, or you can start for £0 today on the 7-day free trial and then pay £59.99 a month. See the course page for the plan that includes your exam entry. There is also 5% off two courses, 10% off three and 15% off four or more.
Getting started
- Choose your subjects against the entry requirements of the course or job you want.
- Decide who books the exam. If you want it handled, choose +Exams; if you prefer to arrange your own private-candidate entry, choose Study.
- Start the 7-day free trial on the A Levels hub: full access from day 1, nothing charged until day 8, cancel any time from your account.