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Original poster

Private school to ditch GCSEs, write own exams

234 replies

noblegiraffe · 13/09/2023 19:40

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/gcses-private-schools-london-qualification-latymer-school-b1106686.html

Not entirely sure what to make of this. Latymer Upper (I'm not really up on private schools so don't know how fancy it is) is planning to ditch GCSEs and create its own assessments to 'free up teaching time'.

I guess if it's a super-selective type school they'd be expecting all the kids to go onto A-levels anyway so aren't worried about losing GCSEs, but what of kids who want to go elsewhere? How recognised would their portfolio be?

Also, we know from covid just how good some private schools are at marking their own homework so how would anyone know if standards were being maintained?

I'm surprised that a school has enough staffing capacity to set up its own exam system tbh.

More private schools could ditch GCSE after London school announces own qualification

Latymer Upper School will drop all GCSEs except maths and English

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/gcses-private-schools-london-qualification-latymer-school-b1106686.html

OP posts:
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Foxesandsquirrels · 14/09/2023 00:22

@noblegiraffe you're right about teddies, bedales is the only one that really does it's own thing aside from maths and English.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 14/09/2023 00:02

So the assumption is that the kid will stay at the school and then head off to uni? No other options?

I just looked at the "Teddies" website from upthread (my eyes!) and they seem to do their fake GCSEs alongside 9 normal GCSEs rather than completely abandoning the system.

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greenspaces4peace · 13/09/2023 23:59

i agree with @hammersmithgal on the uni entry being irrelevant for most due to international schools and the way the uni are accustomed to cross referencing courses and qualifications.

Foxesandsquirrels · 13/09/2023 23:52

@hammersmithgal Haha no I don't but in the Op she said she's not sure how fancy LU is. I think them not worrying about lack of GCSEs sums it up pretty well! It's not really a school that will worry about lack of bums on seats.

hammersmithgal · 13/09/2023 23:42

@Foxesandsquirrels - you don't need to answer that! Just being nosey as thinking about it for DS!

hammersmithgal · 13/09/2023 23:37

Foxesandsquirrels · 13/09/2023 23:34

@noblegiraffe Well you've got to the right conclusion pretty quickly about that school!

Have you got a child there?

Foxesandsquirrels · 13/09/2023 23:34

@noblegiraffe Well you've got to the right conclusion pretty quickly about that school!

hammersmithgal · 13/09/2023 23:33

I'm not sure it will cause many problems in reality. Universities are full of international students who haven't sat GCSEs and most employers don't care about them once you've got A levels, degrees etc.
Universities look a predicted grades, medicine you have to do extra tests anyway, same with some Universities.
Good to mix things up a bit!

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 13/09/2023 23:15

It's not the school being in the paper that makes me think that they think they're very, very important, it's the fact that they think they can create their own exam and people will automatically know anything about it and it won't cause any problems for their kids down the line.

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hammersmithgal · 13/09/2023 23:11

@noblegiraffe - bit harsh- you posted the story on here, not the school! The Standard has just picked up the story from The Times, who will have contacted the school, not the other way round.

AnIndianWoman · 13/09/2023 23:02

They’re doing this because GCSEs are shit and don’t stretch pupils enough. They’ll also be providing children with a portfolio of work - I imagine this could make them more attractive to universities as they will have evidence of their skills in their chosen fields.

Foxesandsquirrels · 13/09/2023 22:57

Bedales already does this. They just do English and Maths GCSE. I think more and more schools will do this to be honest. The exams at 18 model seems to fit a lot more kids.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 13/09/2023 22:57

ErrolTheDragon · 13/09/2023 21:38

Sounds mindbogglingly arrogant to me tbh.

Well indeed. I had to google the school, I suspect these London private schools exist in a little bubble where they think everyone has heard of them and knows how very very important they are.

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hammersmithgal · 13/09/2023 22:52

lanthanum · 13/09/2023 22:48

Do they lose a lot of pupils after year 11? Being cynical, it might be a good way to make it harder for kids to leave for other sixth forms!

Not many- more join than leave.

lanthanum · 13/09/2023 22:48

Do they lose a lot of pupils after year 11? Being cynical, it might be a good way to make it harder for kids to leave for other sixth forms!

hammersmithgal · 13/09/2023 22:42

They've been thinking about it for ages- it's been mentioned on here before.
Others will probably follow. DDs school has mentioned they are looking at something similar.
LU have spent several years consulting with universities, employers etc so I'm sure they've thought it through! It's also a few years until it's implemented.
They'll still be doing A levels and therefore will have predicted grades etc for UCAS.

PreplexJ · 13/09/2023 22:36

user1477391263 · 13/09/2023 22:26

I feel like, given the tendency to contextualize state/private applications somewhat that are seeing these days, anything that screams “I went to private school” may be unhelpful?

Contextualize offer is not about students from state vs private school, it is a common myth.

https://www.ucas.com/advisers/guides-resources-and-training/tools-and-resources-help-you/contextualised-admissions-how-it-works-practice

Contextualised admissions – how it works in practice

Helping form a more complete picture of an applicant’s individual characteristics.

https://www.ucas.com/advisers/guides-resources-and-training/tools-and-resources-help-you/contextualised-admissions-how-it-works-practice

user1477391263 · 13/09/2023 22:26

I feel like, given the tendency to contextualize state/private applications somewhat that are seeing these days, anything that screams “I went to private school” may be unhelpful?

DivingForLove · 13/09/2023 22:22

@ErrolTheDragon ”mindboggingly arrogant” kinda sums up private schools 🤷‍♀️

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 13/09/2023 22:19

Apparently Bedales have done the same, but not all universities will accept it.

(Not checked this btw, but was in a comment on the same article in the Times.)

Not sure I'd be happy as a parent. Even the most academically able kids sometimes want to do something a bit different at 16 and this potentially narrows options if they'd be left with no recognisable qualifications bar English & Maths.

ErrolTheDragon · 13/09/2023 21:38

Sounds mindbogglingly arrogant to me tbh.

redrobin75 · 13/09/2023 21:25

Teddies calls their courses "pathways and perspectives" and they do seem to still offer a few, I don't have time / interest to read the booklet on their website but I can't see that the qualification is endorsed by UCAS.
The school website is stedwardsoxford.org

PreplexJ · 13/09/2023 21:09

SleepQuest33 · 13/09/2023 21:08

I wouldn’t be happy if my children’s school did this. There would be no national benchmark to compare their performance against.

Not sure how to benchmark against even now, it is a highly selective private school anyway.

SleepQuest33 · 13/09/2023 21:08

I wouldn’t be happy if my children’s school did this. There would be no national benchmark to compare their performance against.

MarchingFrogs · 13/09/2023 21:01

AntoinetteCosway · 13/09/2023 20:52

Ampleforth did this with English Lit years ago, universities accepted it.

English Literature A level? In which case, okay, so that's good to know, because Eng Lit A level is a thing that universities tend to require for degrees in English Literature.

GCSE? Not so exciting that universities accept it, given that it's a pass in English Language and Maths that they are normally interested in as part of their general entry requirements. It's GCSEs that LU is intending to dispense with - except English Language and Maths, so, as @noblegiraffe says, the school isn't completely crazy.

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