Education Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed changes to A-levels in England that will mean pupils will take exams at the end of two-year courses.
Pupils are expected to begin the new A-level courses from autumn 2015.
AS-levels will remain, but as a standalone exam, and leading universities will play a bigger role in maintaining standards.
Labour accused the education secretary of turning the clock back and narrowing young people's options.
There was strong opposition from head teachers.
Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Leaders said: "This is a classic case of fixing something that isn't broken."
The organisation representing leading private schools, the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, called the proposals "rushed and incoherent" and accused the plans as being driven by a "timetable based on electoral politics rather than principles of sound implementation".
In a letter to exam regulator Ofqual, Mr Gove says A-levels in their current form do not help students to develop a "deep understanding" of their subjects.
'University role'From 2015 what Mr Gove describes as "bite-sized" units will be scrapped, with the qualification returning to exams taken at the end of the two-year course.
Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent
This confirms the principles that will underpin changes to A-levels in England.
Exams will be taken at the end of two-year, non-modular courses; there will be a more involvement from universities in maintaining standards and the AS-level will become a standalone exam taken either in either one or two years.
Much of this had already been heavily signposted in the past year - but it is clearer about a specific date, with the changes to be introduced in autumn 2015.
It means that this gold standard qualification will return to an all-or-nothing set of exams at the end of the course.
It also means that apart from a stray AS-level, there will be no public exams in the lower sixth year - perhaps allowing it to return to its traditional status as a time for school plays, forming bands and writing bad poetry.
It remains to be seen to what extent universities will engage with policing the new exams - they have been lukewarm about direct involvement.
If Wales and Northern Ireland decline to follow, it will also mark a further fragmentation in the UK's exam system.
At the same time the AS-level would no longer be a stepping stone exam that counts towards a full A-level but instead become a stand-alone qualification.
The AQA exam board said that it was "disappointed" that AS-levels would become stand alone rather than part of the wider A-level.
There will be a bigger role for leading Russell Group universities in supervising the content - although this might take the form of organising committees of specialists, rather than taking direct responsibility.
The introduction of an A-level Baccalaureate - closer to the International Baccalaureate - which had been discussed last year does not appear as part of this package.
The A-level changes call for the end of assessing "modular" chunks of learning - and a return to a "linear" form, with exams at the end of the course. But Ofqual says this switch does not necessarily mean an end to coursework in A-levels.
Stephen Twigg, Labour's shadow education secretary, rejected the argument behind the changes.
"It's no wonder leading universities like Oxford and Cambridge say this is a mistake. We need to have more high quality options available at age 16, including all young people studying English and maths to 18."
Teachers' unions say the changes to A-levels are being taken forward in a cavalier fashion without adequate evidence.
Chris Keates, leader of the teachers' union NASUWT, said: "Rather than recycling the incoherent grumblings of a few isolated and unrepresentative academics, the secretary of state should take note of the fact that there has been no clamour for reform of A-levels from the greater part of the higher education sector and survey evidence has found little concern that A-levels fail to prepare learners for the demands of study at university level.
"Employers have not identified A-levels as problematic," she said.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the decision flew in the face of overwhelming feedback from a recent consultation that found that the "current system needs tweaking but is broadly fit for purpose".
ASCL's general secretary Brian Lightman said: "The argument that A-levels are not preparing students adequately for university is contradicted by the fact that one in six achieve first class honours - a three fold increase over the last 13 years."
"It is disappointing that this has ignored the overwhelming views of the teaching profession, academics, employers and universities to retain the link between AS and A level. AS provides an opportunity for students to take a fourth subject and decide at the end of year 12 which three to specialise in."
Neil Carberry, the CBI's director of employment and skills said: "Businesses want more rigorous exams but we're concerned that these changes aren't being linked up with other reforms, especially to GCSEs. We need a more coherent overall system."
Pam Tatlow of the Million+ university think tank said "These proposals risk creating a two-tier A-level system which will complicate university admissions and reduce opportunities for students."
The announcement comes as protests grow about Mr Gove's plans to scrap GCSEs and replace them with English Baccalaureate Certificates (EBCs) from 2015.
Campaigners will hand in a letter to No 10 Downing Street later urging Prime Minister David Cameron to rethink the pace of reforms of exams.
Students in Scotland have a different exam system while the devolved governments in Wales and Northern Ireland will make their own decisions about whether to implement the changes to A-levels.
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