A UK examination authority (an "examining and awarding body"), which
also has an international presence. They are officially a charity but
are structured more like a company, and were formed by the merger of BTEC
and ULEAC in 1996.
As well as specialised corporate qualifications, Key Skills and Entry
Qualifications, they also organise GCSE, GCE AS/A level, BTEC,
(G)NVQ and AEA examinations; they're the primary provider of GNVQs and modular A levels in the UK, and their GCSE Mathematics qualification is extremely popular. Their qualifications are, according to their web site, offered in over 6000 schools.
They made a lot of mistakes in the marking of exams in 2001, and this
led to lots of complaints, especially about the new AS-level examinations.
This may have something to do with the fact that they made a large loss in
2000, which they blamed on the costs of the introduction of a new style
of A levels.