What is the terminal rule?

For all Level 1/Level 2 Technical Award qualifications offered to 14 to 16-year-olds, such as Cambridge Nationals, there is a requirement to take the exam as terminal assessment, more commonly known as the ‘Terminal Rule’. 

This means:

• The examined unit must be taken in the student's final assessment series (when the student is finishing the qualification)
• If you choose to enter your students for the R067 exam in an earlier series, before they have completed and submitted both R068 and R069, it will be classed as a practice attempt and will need to be taken again at the same time, or after the final submission for R068/R069.
• The non-examined assessment (NEA) units can be taken in any series but must be submitted in a series before the exam is taken, or in the same series as the exam is taken.

We have produced a terminal rule guide with examples of how the terminal rule works for Cambridge Nationals.

If your scenario is not included in our guide and you would like some advice, please contact us.