GCSEs 2014 Changes -pls explain how this will impact current Yr 9s/

Does this have any impact on schools that do the GCSEs in 3 blocks - 3 subjects taught in year 9, learn 3 different subjects in year 10 and 3 different again to have lessons for in year 11. DD's prospective secondary does this and I am really worried about it.

I know of 2 schools who were saying that their children won't be able to cope with the IGCSEs but all of a sudden they are switching now. Their reason is that they are not happy with the new GCSEs!! It is curious that schools change their opinion in this short time! I would love to know what 's the real reason behind their decision ...

Agree with all the changes all the time. No one, not pupils, parents or teachers can get to grips with one system, when another one is started. It's so difficult and political for the schools. The league tables were a good idea when they started but now it seems that they drive everything.

So far as I understand it, some GCSEs now use controlled assessments in place of modules. This means the teachers don't have to keep going over the earlier stuff for the pupils who haven't managed to get a good enough grade in the modules, together with having to teach the next bit of the syllabus. So far as I understand it, this means teachers will have more time to teach each bit of the course.

I think everyone is having a hard time of it at the moment. Directions from the top keep changing and so schools keep having to make amendments to keep up. The poor pupils are stuck in the middle, hoping to do the best they can, knowing that all employers/further education are interested in are the grades they achieve. They are not interested in what circumstances the pupils got those grades.

I think the palaver that is controlled assessment is why many schools have started to offer the IGCSE.

Is the New system a reason why many private schools, that were resisting a move to the IGCSE, have started to offer the IGCSE?

Oh, ok. Thanks for that. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens - ds is year 9.

Ok, I've found this on the DfE website:

"`Controlled assessments? are internal assessments and not done as part of the exam cycle. The timing of controlled assessments, therefore, will not be affected by this change."

So coursework stays the same until the review.

This extract from the same letter seems to confirm that controlled assessment is removed from 2012, since it speaks of it being reconsidered from 2013/2014.

Following the review of the National Curriculum all GCSE
specifications will have to be revised in line with changes
to programmes of study and new GCSEs are then likely
to be introduced from 2013 (core subjects) and 2014
(other subjects). At that point approaches to assessment
(including controlled assessment) will be reconsidered. In
the meantime Ofqual is investigating whether changes
could be made to the regulations around CA to make it
more manageable and more consistent.

So, I think it is fair to assume that those children starting GCSE courses in 2011 and 2012 (so the current Years 8 & 9) will have to sit final exams only, with no coursework or modules, but that controlled assessment may be reintroduced after that, if deemed necessary. So the current Years 8 & 9 are being treated as guinea pigs for a new system that may not work.

noblegiraffe - at dh's school 'the specifications will not change' has been taken to mean that the syllabus will not change; this makes sense as they have only just changed anyway. Why should that mean there will still be coursework? Coursework can (and most likely will) be replaced with an essay-style exam paper.

I hate to point out that Gove is in favour of compulsory resits of the entire GCSE for any kid under 19 who didn't get a C in maths or English. Resitting until they get a C, that is.

So resitting modules=bad, resitting GCSEs=good.

I sympathise with some people, such as HuntyCat's dd.

But, at the moment GCSEs are not sorting the wheat from the chaff. Being able to take exams in little bite-size chunks, and retaking them over and over again, and producing coursework which has been "influenced" too much by a parent or teacher is not fair on those who actually know their stuff.

Obviously there are some subjects (cookery, art, dance...) which need to be assessed on a practical element - although my mother who took School Certificate back in the dark ages had to do a one-off cookery exam where you were given the ingredients, a recipe and two hours to produce the required dishes.

shineypenny, from what I understand, from 2012 all external exams will be taken at the end of the course. The curriculum is then being completely overhauled (core subjects from 2013, the rest from 2014) and who knows what that will bring.

This letter says 'The Secretary of State has decided that for all GCSE courses
starting from September 2012, all external exams will
be done at the end of the course (ie summer 2014). The
specifications will not change but there will be no modular
examinations during the course' ...then that when the curriculum is overhauled 'At that point approaches to assessment (including controlled assessment) will be reconsidered'.

Which suggests that controlled assessment stays for the moment but may go in the future. I'm not sure how they could justify getting rid of all coursework - geography fieldwork for example?

Just to add - noticed that you are a teacher. My dh is a HoD and that is how he understands it.

noblegiraffe - they are changing it to 100% final exams, i.e. two year course and then sit one or more papers under exam conditions.
Also, they want to implement restrictions on resits, so that the only children who will be able to resit will be those who did not do as expected based on national assessment (CATS results etc). This will mean that an A/A student will not be able to resit if they get an A and want/need an A.
The government wants to implement these changes from the current Year 9, but it hasn't gone through parliament yet.

well what happens if your DC has just started in Y10? has already sat 1st module of Maths GCSE Biology Physics and Chemistry GCSE'S in Y9(June) came in last week with results(all a*) do these not count and she has to start again?

Oh GOD! DD will never get the 3 'C' grades she needs for her college course if she can't resit modules. Fuckity fuck. Why do they have to change things when it is better for DD the way it was? This is going to be a nightmare for dc with SEN.

That's right, there won't be modules so you can't resit individual bits of the course. You can resit the GCSE, however.

When you say you cannot sit modules - does that mean no resits, so no chance to get a better mark? DD will need this, if she is to scrape 'C' grades. She'll not get them otherwise (and will be hard pushed even with modular courses and multiple resits).

Huntycat - they are not switching courses to 100% exams. They are changing it so that you cannot sit modules throughout the course. The material will now only be externally examined in an exam situation at the end of 2 years. Coursework will still be done throughout the course, under controlled conditions.

hi, I'm a mother of 2 who are 13 &14. we've been living in different countries in Asia for the last 20 years. I look for a boarding school in uk for our son as he attended International schools and speaks only English. My husband is from Germany but our son doesn't speak German. In Germany there are only 3-4 boarding schools where students can study in English or take IB program and their tuition is so expensive....we can't afford that. I heard that there are some boarding schools in uk where students from EU countries would pay reasonable tuition fee. Do anyone know about those schools?
We are moving again soon and we don't want to move him again at Year 12 or 13.

How will this affect a child in bottom set, with SEN, but not statemented (SA+)? She will fail EVERYTHING if she has to do it 100% exams? She NEEDS the ability to do coursework over a longer time with support. She will fail EVERY exam if they are 100% exams, she panics in exams.

She has just started Y9.

For iGCSEs, the subjects and standards seem less susceptible to political winds and fads. It's as if the iGCSE product was developed orginally for overseas customers, who want what it says on the tin, and not what the latest Secretary of State decides will avoid getting him/her prised out of the job.

State secondaries can offer iGCSEs now. So why not vote with their feet, follow their professional instincts, choose to teach what's best for developing children, rather than follow the latest Government obsession? Independents have always had the freedom to choose, and voted with their feet on Physics, Chemistry, Biology, MFLs.......... I'm really curious as to why it's not happened in the state sector.

Just went to the year 9 parents' meeting and all it was was a run through of the rules and policies. There was me expecting a talk about GCSE changes! At the end I asked the DH if any changes were afoot and he said that although 'anything could happen' he thought that a change to having just terminal exams would take longer to bring in than 3 years and wouldn't affect the current year 9s. I couldn't tell if he was bluffing because he usually avoids me after meetings and he may have said this to bring the conversation to a halt.