Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment

Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment
Abbreviation	CCEA
Formation	1994
Purpose/focus	Examination board
Headquarters	Belfast, UK
Region served	Northern Ireland, England and Wales
Website	www.ccea.org.uk

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) (Irish Comhairle Curaclaim, Scrúdúcháin agus Mheasúnaithe) is an examination board in Northern Ireland. As well as setting examinations, the CCEA advises the government on what should be taught in Northern Ireland's schools, and monitors the standard of qualifications and examinations in Northern Ireland.

CCEA was established as a state body in 1994 and is based in Belfast. It replaced the Northern Ireland Schools Examination and Assessment Council and the Northern Ireland Schools Examination Council.

Although CCEA is the only examination board based in Northern Ireland to award GCSE and A-level qualifications, schools in Northern Ireland can enter their students for examinations regulated by any UK Examinations Board. 70% of GCSE and 66% of GCE exams taken by students in Northern Ireland are set by CCEA.^{[citation needed]} The remainder are set by the four English and Welsh awarding bodies.

A small number of schools in England and Wales also use the CCEA examination board.

In general conversation among staff and students in schools, CCEA is commonly called 'See-ah'. This has become more popular since the introduction of the current logo.

In contrast with AQA, Edexcel, OCR or WJEC whose main functions are setting GCSE and A-level public examinations and related courses, CCEA advises government on what should be taught and assessed in Primary Schools and post primary schools in Northern Ireland. It used to set the Eleven Plus examinations in Northern Ireland on behalf of the Department of Education.

See also

• Education in Northern Ireland

External links

• CCEA website