Edexcel vs. AQA

[Fekko]

I was just asking DS which books he was using for school and just learned that there are 2 gcse boards - this is news to me!

I was going to get him some revision books and had no idea which exams the students sit (DS doesnt know either).

Does anyone know what the difference is between, say maths papers?

Are you in the UK? There are many exam boards Edexcel, AQA, OCR and eduquas.
What yeas is your son in? What subjects is he sitting?

In the uk - he's year 9 and they are doing the groundwork now. I've now found an edexcel gcse physics book from school so assume that they are all the same exam board?

Different departments will choose the exam board that best suits them, so your DC will need to ask his teachers. We have just changed exam boards in my department for the new GCSEs so the Edexcel book may be an old one but cover some of the topics IYSWIM.

No, don’t assume that. Different subjects will do different boards. You’ll need to check with the teachers which board he is sitting. That information might be online or in any paperwork you were given at options evening?

Lorks! Is there a huge difference?

Different subjects will do different boards, you need to check

I would check first. Our department stocks lots of books as some cover certain aspects of the course in better detail than others. Does it say what spec they follow on the school website?

Just found some course info and some do say which board - I've seen 3 different ones so far! This is confusing.

Fekko for some subjects this is the second year of the new GCSEs, for others it is the first. I would perhaps hang fire until the school starts to recommend revision guides etc. Or be proactive and ask the different departments, some books have simply not be written or published yet.

Most schools will tell you which boards they use for each GCSE or A level on their website.

Don't assume that the school will use the same board for each subject, far from it.

Also some boards offer different syllabuses in the same subject.

Yes, our high school has just changed exam boards for sciences
They have warned that the courses are hugely different and the revision books are not compatible / transferable

It's common for schools to mix & match exam boards. Maths GCSE is very similar across all exam boards as OFQUAL is very specific about what they must cover. For physics, although the core content will be the same, there is more difference in how the subject is approached and presented between exam boards. Historically, I have felt that Edexcel exam papers were more traditional in style whereas AQA were trying to make them more "relevant". Not sure if there is as much difference in style in the new GCSEs though.

The key points are that the board doesn't affect how much the qualification is worth - they're all worth the same. When they're applying to sixth form, nobody cares which exam board you took. However, if you're buying revision books etc, it helps to get one for the exact syllabus as there will be small differences between them. If you're paying the same either way, you might as well buy the best possible resource for your child.