Here you’ll find support for teaching and studying BTEC Firsts in Applied Science. Through a combination of practical experience and written assignments, these vocational qualifications provide level 2 learners with the knowledge, skills and understanding needed for a career in the sector.
Please note: from 2017 there is no longer an external assessment sitting in November for this qualification. This means there are two sittings per year, in March and May/June.
On this page
Specification
- Qualification type:
- BTEC First
- Qualification title:
- Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Award in Principles of Applied Science
- Qualification framework:
- See the latest information on accountability measures
- Level:
- Level 1/2
- Accreditation status:
- Accredited
- Guided Learning Hours (GLH):
- 120
- Total Qualification Time (TQT):
- 160
- Qualification number (QN):
- 600/4787/2
- Eligible for funding in England for:
-
16-18 (EFA funding),
Pre-16 (EFA funding)
- Availability:
- UK and Europe ?The Europe region includes some countries outside the European continent. These countries are: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Falklands, Israel, Iceland, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
- First teaching:
- 2012
- Last registration:
-
- 31 July 2026 (England)
- 31 July 2026 (Wales)
- Final certification:
-
- 31 July 2028 (England)
- 31 July 2028 (Wales)
- Qualification type:
- BTEC First
- Qualification title:
- Pearson BTEC Level 1/ Level 2 First Award in Application of Science
- Qualification framework:
- See the latest information on accountability measures
- Level:
- Level 1/2
- Accreditation status:
- Accredited
- Guided Learning Hours (GLH):
- 120
- Total Qualification Time (TQT):
- 160
- Qualification number (QN):
- 600/4796/3
- Eligible for funding in England for:
-
16-18 (EFA funding),
Pre-16 (EFA funding)
- Availability:
- UK and Europe ?The Europe region includes some countries outside the European continent. These countries are: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Falklands, Israel, Iceland, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
- First teaching:
- 2012
- Last registration:
-
- 31 July 2026 (England)
- 30 November 2024 (Wales)
- Final certification:
-
- 31 July 2028 (England)
- 31 December 2026 (Wales)
- Qualification type:
- BTEC First
- Qualification title:
- Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Extended Certificate in Applied Science
- Qualification framework:
- See the latest information on accountability measures
- Level:
- Level 1/2
- Accreditation status:
- Accredited
- Guided Learning Hours (GLH):
- 360
- Total Qualification Time (TQT):
- 480
- Qualification number (QN):
- 600/6318/X
- Eligible for funding in England for:
-
Pre-16 (EFA funding),
16-18 (EFA funding)
- Availability:
- UK and Europe ?The Europe region includes some countries outside the European continent. These countries are: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Falklands, Israel, Iceland, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
- First teaching:
- 2012
- Last registration:
-
- 31 December 2026
- Final certification:
-
- 31 December 2028
- Qualification type:
- BTEC First
- Qualification title:
- Pearson BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Diploma in Applied Science
- Qualification framework:
- See the latest information on accountability measures
- Level:
- Level 1/2
- Accreditation status:
- Accredited
- Guided Learning Hours (GLH):
- 480
- Total Qualification Time (TQT):
- 640
- Qualification number (QN):
- 601/4531/6
- Eligible for funding in England for:
-
16-18 (EFA funding),
Pre-16 (EFA funding)
- Availability:
- UK and Europe ?The Europe region includes some countries outside the European continent. These countries are: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, the Canary Islands, Falklands, Israel, Iceland, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
- First teaching:
- 2014
- Last registration:
-
- 31 July 2026 (England)
- 31 July 2026 (Wales)
- Final certification:
-
- 31 July 2028 (England)
- 31 July 2028 (Wales)
Support for teachers
Content for: Getting ready to teach
Whether you’re planning to teach BTEC for the first time or have taught BTEC Firsts before, you’ll find all the information you need to plan your course here.
To help get you started, there’s a step-by-step guide to delivering BTEC.
Then you can create courses and assignments using the course wizard in myBTEC; download sample assessment materials; gather ideas for practical activities and realistic scenarios from our Delivery Guide; or book your place on one of our training courses.
Watch an introduction to our BTEC training courses.
Get to know your course
Expert help and support
Recruit and prepare learners
Course planning
Unit planning
Content for: Teaching and learning
Once your plans are in place, there’s plenty of advice and guidance available to help you deliver BTEC Firsts.
The Introduction to Standardisation training helps make sure you’re up to speed on the Quality Assurance process. There’s also FAQs about onscreen testing and a wealth of material in the Teaching and Learning section of the Course Materials area, including Sample Marked Learner Work.
We also offer a wealth of published resources to support your learners and bring your lessons to life.
Resources for learning and revision
Training
Support materials
Content for: Preparing for assessment
High-quality, teacher-led assessment is at the heart of BTEC Firsts. These qualifications also contain an element of external assessment, which may be through a timetabled paper-based examination or an onscreen, on-demand test.
To help you in creating your own assignments, you can use our authorized assignment briefs either ‘off the shelf’ or as a guide to creating your own.
There’s also a Guide to Internal Assessment Sample Assessment Materials, and Sample Marked Learner Work.
If you need clarity on how much feedback to give your learners when they’re working on assignments, you can work through our Giving Feedback – refresher training.
External assessment takes the form of an onscreen test or a traditional paper-based exam.
Prepare your learners with sample assessment materials, mark schemes and past papers.
Internal Assessment
External Assessment
Content for: Understanding results
Calculating BTEC grades
The specification is the best place to find guidance on how the qualification grade is calculated, but you can also see our guidance for students on how we calculate the overall grade for their BTEC. Alternatively, if you or your students want to calculate an overall BTEC grade, you can use our handy grade calculator.
After each test, we make a range of documents available to help you see why your learners have received the grades they have, and to use in future teaching to help new learners prepare for assessment. These materials include:
- Mark Schemes and Past Papers
- Lead Examiner reports – an overview of how learners performed on each unit and the overall test.
We also have subject-specific post-results services, which include information about what you can do if you’re concerned about a student’s results.
Grading for Internally Assessed units is carried out according to the Quality Assurance process and is supported by Standards Verifiers.
Calculating your qualification grade
Externally assessed units
Internally Assessed Units
Your subject advisor
Subject advisor
Irine Muhiuddin
Science
Support for students
What will I learn?
BTEC Firsts in Applied Science can help you take your first steps towards a career in a wide range of sectors such as process, industrial, medical, or forensic science. You’ll learn about scientific principles and how to put them into practice in the workplace.
Contact us
Step into your future.
We’ve worked closely with over 5,000 employers, universities, teaching professionals and trainers to develop our new range of BTEC Nationals qualifications, and the specifications are available now.
Find out more on BTEC Nationals from 2016 in Applied Science
