Applied General qualifications are broad applied Level 3 courses designed to support progression to higher education. They are the largest non-A-level family in this Explorer.
Applied General is a DfE performance-table category for Level 3 qualifications that provide broad study of a vocational area, designed to support progression to higher education rather than directly into a single occupation.
In practice the category is dominated by BTEC Nationals (Pearson) and Cambridge Technicals (OCR), together with Level 3 VRQs — vocationally related qualifications from a range of awarding organisations.
Unlike A levels, these come in several sizes, and one entry does not mean one A level:
| Qualification | A-level equivalent size |
|---|---|
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | 3.0 |
| BTEC National Diploma | 2.0 |
| BTEC National Foundation Diploma | 1.5 |
| BTEC National Extended Certificate | 1.0 |
| BTEC National Certificate | 0.5 |
| Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma | 3.0 |
| Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate | 1.0 |
| Level 3 VRQ | 0.5 to 3.25 |
This is why the Explorer offers an A-level equivalents toggle. On raw entries a college running Extended Diplomas looks far smaller than it is.
2,084 institutions recorded Applied General entries in 2024/25 — 230,713 entries, worth 299,331 A-level equivalents, across 26 subject areas.
Subject lines roll every size together, so an institution offering Business as both a Certificate and a Diploma is counted once for Business. Each subject profile shows the size breakdown.
These are DfE reporting categories, not course titles. “Health Studies” and “Sports Studies” each cover many differently-named qualifications from several awarding bodies. They are reliable for describing where a broad area of study is provided; they should not be read as a course catalogue.
Last checked 17 August 2026. Observed provision is based on recorded exam entries. An institution with no recorded entries in a subject may still have offered it — see what subject provision means.