To think A CSE Grade 1 from 1985 would be equal to at B at GCSE today.

[motown3000]

Despite being demonized and stated that they were not worth the paper , they were written on could a Grade 1 CSE be the equivalent of a B grade Gcse today . Maybe a Grade 2 CSE is the equivalent of a C Grade.

It would be interesting to compare the exam papers with today's Gcse papers. I bet the CSE papers would be at least equal to the foundation papers.

IceBeing - that's fascinating to hear, and I can understand why you're concerned now!

Echo, exact opposite in science certainly. Looking back at some CSE papers tonight ( dear sweet hoarder DH had kept some) sample questions included pictures of items such as thermometers, test tubes and the students had to tick a box next to the correct name!
Ridiculously easy compared to today's science GCSE's, or the O levels I took.

A grade 1 CSE meant you'd been taught to grade C o level and basically you'd achieved as much as you could on that exam like getting an A* today ( not equivalent just like in that you'd got the highest grades you could for the exam you were sitting).
My school was awful, I was only taught to CSE and like the MP mentioned above my parents wanted me entered for the O levels. My dad did a deal.. Enter her ... if she passes you pay if she fails we pay ... I've got 11 O levels grades A to C. Each of those would have been a CSE grade 1 if not for that deal because that's the highest I could have possibly got sitting that paper.

Ohmergerd. It is interesting to hear different peoples responses, to the question. I took GCSEs in 1989 and ended up with 4Es and 1 D for my troubles ?. The fascinating thing is CSEs were derided and in many circumstances determined your career path, yet in hindsight compared to today , It looks like Grades 1 or 2 were not bad ?.

As I recall,in the CSE maths paper,the questions were ' ridiculously simple to begin with. I seem to remember a question about buying stamps where you had to add the two prices together and give the total! However,it got progressively harder and the questions at the end of the booklet were quite difficult. The O level started out tricky and remained tricky! The biggest difference was in the language the two exams used. CSE was much plainer English,whereas O level used much more 'flowery' language, which made it harder to understand what I was looking for! I was amazed I managed to get a D, and very pleased to get a grade 1 !

For some reason I sat a CSE mock history (no idea why as I took o level history)

One of the questions (I swear to god) showed a picture of hitler, and picture of Mussolini, a picture of Italy and a picture of Germany and you had to match the dictator up with his country!

Going on my own experience, I "double took" 3 subjects at o level and CSE (just before GCSEs came in). I have no doubt that a grade C at o level was much harder to achieve than a grade 1 at CSE (otherwise why bother double-taking?). From memory, I think it was the curriculum content which was harder. I don't really count my grade 1s as o levels equivalents because I don't think they were