As stated before, I stupidly can't apply due to A Levels, which I still believe is an insane way of predicting how well you'll perform as a pilot... Another guy who was on my assessment had 3 A Levels at A grade and he failed the assessment for the 2nd time... Whereas I passed first time with high scores... It's a joke!!!
It is neither
insane nor a
joke. From the many thousands who will apply, the applications need to be whittled down to a small manageable number who will be selected for interview. Then from that group, an even smaller percentage are likely to be successful. Within the interview group will be many potentially good pilots who will almost certainly also perform very well as pilots at each stage of their training. Different airlines will apply their own set of qualifying criteria as part of the whittling down (selection) process.
Many airlines, and you can be sure British airways is one of them, regard pilot recruitment as a resource from which they will draw future trainers and managers. Not only do they want to reduce the attrition risk in their own training process, but they look for skills that go broader than simply "flying a plane." Educational achievements in themselves are regarded as a valid indicator to the amount of effort and commitment that an individual has already shown in pursuit of their own betterment. It may not be foolproof, but it has a tried and trusted track record.
Yes, there may well be potentially good applicants excluded from this process, but the methodology doesn't cause the company to suffer any lack of quality or quantity in the numbers that do qualify. Consequently your lack of qualification doesn't affect them at all. Companies that regard themselves as the pinnacle players, expect to attract applicants that reflect that perceived status. Once again, there is no shortage of such applicants.
The education requirement they set does NOT give an indication as to how well someone will perform in the selection process.. It's sad really...
Oh, but it does! The educational achievement requirements they set, eliminate a large swathe of people who will not get to the next stage of the application process. At each stage, the applicants performance will be assessed, and a further whittling down process will occur. By the end of the process the company expects to have the best people to put forward on the limited number of courses on offer. Each stage of the process will be instrumental at arriving at a conclusion that the company wants.