the ATPL exams are compared by many to GCSE's in terms of difficulty. In fact, someone here recently compared passing the ATPL exams to passing 14 GCSE's rather than equating the ATPL's to a degree.
I’d be very careful about equating the ATPL written exams to GCSEs. Having done both, I’d say the
workload is much closer to degree level than GCSEs. And the commitment required to pass them is higher than either GCSEs or a degree – think of trying to complete a degree in a year, while working full time. I’d suggest that the only way they equate to GCSEs is in the academic ability required to pass them.