Private school to ditch GCSEs, write own exams

I'd just wait and see if you get an offer and then go to the offer holder events where I'm sure they'll talk about it/ answer questions etc.

Thanks so much, I dont think there is a plan to delay though. Our elder child went to LUS and had the best time. However now with the new head and alternative route to gcse, we are not so sure anymore.

Not a LUS parent, but I would be very cautious in current environment of signing up to anything which deviates from the norm in the state sector. The direction of travel of the current curriculum review is to set a national curriculum which all state schools will have to follow - including free schools and academies which have until now had much more freedom to go their own way. Although at present there doesn't seem to be any suggestion that private schools will have to follow this. I expect LUS will adapt to the environment; perhaps they will delay their plans until things are clearer....

Apologies to bring back this old post as I was searching for mumsnet views with regard to LUS gcse dropping plan. We could be in the position of deciding very soon(fingers crossed for the interview) and have not felt like we have enough info about the school alternative to gcse plan and how parents are feeling about it. My elder child sat gcse and had all 9s, she didnt like the exam format but studied hard for it and learnt alot through the process and it will be surely setting her well for her University application. An alternative route sounds adventurous to me and indeed a bit worrying. Any LUS parents here?

To be honest, I've no idea why they would be scrapping GCSEs. I just know there was some kind of consultation and quite are few schools were / are considering this.

@jayajana - that all makes sense but why don’t they just do IGCSE plus IB like Wellington College or Sevenoaks School and just teach way beyond the syllabus in things like languages and science and maths at GCSE level for the higher sets. The IB is challenging enough and at least it is recognised worldwide.

These moves do not seem to be in the best interests of the students. British unis are still one of the best worldwide and they still look at GCSEs as well. So this move makes no sense. It sounds more like an identity crisis amongst private schools to me - a club worried about government policy interference and pressure on universities to positively discriminate against them too somehow. So they want to do some sort of strange preemptive move.

I get the American School of London for example following the US curriculum or a French lycee school following the French curriculum. However, what your post suggests is that the top private schools are like a club that intends to get together to invent some sort of branded concept of the best of private British education that only they will offer. The British Elite Private BAC.

Interested to see this as my DC went to this school. It's very competitive entry at 11 plus - 1500 sit entrance exams, 450 interviewed, 120 places. GCSE results are consistently about 94% 9-7. Very few leave before A-level because the alternatives in the area would be single sex mostly (eg. St Paul's Boys, St Paul's Girls, Godolphin and Latymer). These schools achieve very similar results, if not marginally better.

LU won a TES award for improving social mobility. It has the most developed bursary scheme of that type of school - 25% receive bursaries there. It has won Independent School if the Year recently, as have other schools in the area.

The school tends to be quite innovative with its curriculum. For instance, it always taught its own (assessed) course "World Perspectives" alongside GCSE. While other similar schools locally are still pushing students to do 4 A-levels, at LU they do 3 (plus EPQ), alongside the 'Latymer Diploma' which involves taking 4 courses from a 'carousel' of about 40 options; plus a number of hours volunteering; plus evidence of involvement in extra-curricular and leadership or entrepreneurial activities.

I heard about this plan to abolish GCSEs about a year ago. There was a consultation between various independent schools and quite a few were / are considering this move. If I remember rightly, other schools keen on this are the Francis Holland Schools (Sloane Sq and Regents Park), St Paul's Girls and possibly Godolphin and Latymer (plus others outside London). They seem to have decided that dropping GCSEs will be inevitable in all schools anyway (now that education until 18 is mandatory) as there will be a move towards a similar system as in most Euro countries where there is less emphasis on testing at 16, just progression into the next stage. It was something like that anyway - plus they don't want to hold students back by sticking to a GCSE curriculum (which is quite limited) if they are ready to move beyond that.

it's not planned for a few years yet and no doubt other schools will be announcing similar in the near future.

https://whichschooladvisor.com/uk/school-review/dartford-grammar-school

What is the curriculum like for the IB MYP? I'd be interested to know how much leeway children get in what they can study. Or does everyone have to do everything?

I believe some state school in Kent, are following the IB middle years programme for years 7 to 9, and then reverting to GCSE's, for years 10 and 11.
I'd be really interested to hear how that is going, and how the transition from year 9 to year 10 feels.
My eldest is in MYP4 (yr10) and I've been impressed with the breadth of the curriculum.

Yes, but he won't do that, because the IB is outside of Westminster's political control. Which is in fact of course one of its biggest advantages.

I didn’t see anyone mentioning this, but there was a letter in the Times about this from a Bedales parent, which implies their child had been asked to leave after year 11 having not made enough progress for A levels, and subsequently it was difficult to find a new school that would accept the home-grown qualifications his child had gained there. Definitely something to think about.

I’d be extremely hesitant about sending my DC here unless he was either very bright or alternatively unlikely ever to need A-levels.

If Sunak is serious about actual education rather than making a mark himself😁😁😁

Agree with the rest

The "English Baccalaureate" isn't a qualification, though. It's a school performance measure. It would be easy to change the name, or simply get rid of it as it serves no purpose.

@PreplexJ - As Sunak's plan (can't really be called that with the current total lack of detail) is for a 3-year baccalaureate programme, GCSEs would have to go. So far as getting rid of GCSEs, requiring everyone to study English language and maths in some form until 18 and broadening the curriculum goes, I'm all in favour of this. Of course, the final proposal will be unfit for purpose, unworkable or unfunded, or probably all three, but if the principle can be established before a competent government (if such a thing can ever exist in the UK again) works on the details, it could be a positive move.

What puzzles me is the references to a "British" baccalaureate. The Westminster government has no control over education and qualifications in Wales or Scotland, and limited control in Northern Ireland.

If Sunak is serious about actual education rather than making a mark himself on Education by some new concept, then he could just ensure the International Baccalaureate, tried and tested, over many years, is more widely available in all areas of England. Quite a few grammar schools already teach it. It is harder to do the IB than A level, it won’t suit all kids. However, in many ways it is more similar to A level than European style baccalaureates because it allows for early specialism in 3 higher level subjects. It combines the best of being prepared for uni with a bit more all round knowledge/skills and has some community service. The latter satisfying the Tory civic calls to duty as well.

The Tory wants to reform thr A level to introduction an IB style baccalaureate, the current GCSE surely had to reform to make it fit for purpose.

https://www.ft.com/content/d62fde2b-0803-4211-805e-4bd571714600

That is funny!

A lot of the press articles miss the key point about private schools though - which is that most are a club for the teachers there, a sort of big community. Where they can have a better lifestyle/more support than in the state sector and much more freedom - in the state sector, many teachers are whipped by Ofsted/management/ever changing government policies so they quit in droves. There is a massive decline of male teachers as well in the state sector. It was never about the spoilt brat rich kids who attend, more about the private school teachers’ club. It isn’t a coincidence that private schools can still attract male teachers and state schools cannot. Is it really just the sport? I don’t think so.

Private Eye has some fun with the idea

Why is this kind of stuff even published

Because it generates clicks. That is the only thing newspaper publishers are interested in.

Thanks @ErrolTheDragon - you explained that better than I did. No private school is going to guarantee that all kids can stay for Sixth Form or that they won’t get expelled for behaviour issues. In addition, affordability issues can suddenly affect even very rich people, including oligarchs so personally, I wouldn’t be signing up for this. International parents are actually quite exposed here. We also never know what geopolitical situations are round the corner. I bet a lot of the “international” parents don’t understand the elitism/British establishment all that well.

As for Giles Coren - if he can afford private school fees and is taking the Camden Girls school place to brag, he is worse than any private school parent, in my opinion. How disingenuous! Why is this kind of stuff even published, especially given the racist/xenophobic overtones. I just don’t get it! Is it all because apparently the offspring of the British establishment is still at Oxbridge? Really? I thought they were meant to be addressing elitism too.

This letter in the Times yesterday demonstrates one of the problems with opting out. Will Latymer be guaranteeing that all their pupils can continue in their own sixth form?

Surely this is like universities where they grade their own work. And the generic "league tables" are based on pupil destinations. So if other schools follow suit then it will take a few years for league tables to settle but it will be based on a similar concept. It will just be a bumpy few years until private schools setting their own exams become the norm.

Ah, I’m out of date! I try to avoid the family.