In Northern Ireland Ofqual regulated NVQs on behalf of the Department for Employment and Learning until May 2016; this responsibility has since been handed to the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.

The Conservative Party under Prime Minister David Cameron initiated reforms for A Levels to change from the current modular to a linear structure.

[8] British examination boards (Edexcel, AQA, OCR and WJEC) regulated and accredited by Ofqual responded to the government's reform announcements by modifying syllabi of several A Level subjects.

[12][13] Recent reports reveal that the linear examination approach and the toughening educational reforms initiated by Ofqual provoked many schools to "play the system" by requesting test remarking and supplementary aid for students (e.g. special consideration and extra time) in order to uphold high exam grade levels so as to not drop in league tables.

[14] Rising numbers of students taking GCSEs and GCE A Levels over the past decades has led to an increase in the quantity of examination results being enquired for re-marking and reported to Ofqual.

Therefore, although CAIE qualifications are accredited by Ofqual, they are not regulated by it and thus may differ significantly in subject content and exam structure from UK GCSEs and GCE A-Levels.