As creators of Cambridge Pre-U, we would like to address a couple of points made in Bernie Evans’s letter (23 February). Students in UK state schools can and do take Cambridge Pre-U – a third of schools in the UK taking it are state schools. Cambridge Pre-U is regulated by Ofqual, and the standards for it and A-level are aligned, as reflected in the Ucas points available for each Pre-U grade.

Universities are used to making fair comparisons between different qualifications, whether between A-level and Cambridge Pre-U, or between equivalent qualifications from around the world with different grade scales. Cambridge Pre-U competes on rigour and depth of preparation for university.

In our experience, schools in both the independent and state sector look for qualifications of real educational worth that are tried and trusted as rigorous preparation for the next stage in their students’ education.
Christine Özden
Chief executive, Cambridge Assessment International Education