GCSEs in the 1980s - how many exams

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As my DS is currently sitting his exams I was trying to remember how many exams per subject I had.

I took them in 1989 and I certainly don't remember having three geography papers.

I know we had some coursework in Geography and Music but can't remember if we had any in other subjects?

^ This was my experience 100%.

I did O levels in 1982. I'm sure we had multi choice papers for both Physics and Chemistry. I have many of the papers upstairs in an old WHSmiths paper bag, but I can't be bothered going to get them to see duration. Maybe tomorrow.
I took 8 subjects, the standard at my school was 9 but I was science biased so there were fewer options for me.

Did mine 1990 - several of them had multiple papers. Some had both an exam and a coursework component. I took 9 subjects which was standard at the comprehensive I attended.

I did O levels in ‘82. I did ten subjects (large northern comprehensive school). Ten subjects was unusual and only available to those in the top maths group (the other subject was Additional Maths, and it was voluntary). I got 9As and a B. That was considered really, really good, though there were a tiny handful of people who did better than me, or the same. All were final exams, apart from art. I think physics had a small multiple choice element and biology had a small practical element.

I wonder if papers are shorter now to allow for the large number of extra time students - I don’t think there were adjustments like that back then?

1982 O levels:
Eng Lang1 2hrs & Eng Lang2 2hrs
Maths2 2.5hrs + ?
RS 2.5hrs
Eng Lit 2.5 hrs (P&P question: From your knowledge of the characters give your impressions of two of the following marriages Mr&Mrs Bennett, Lydia&Wickham, Charlotte&Collins. Support your answer by detailed reference to the novel)
Latin1 2.5hrs & Latin2 1.5hrs
French3 1.5hrs + Oral & Listening?
Physics1 2hrs + Multichoice
Chemistry ? + Multichoice

No 3hr papers at GCSE.

No 3hr papers at GCSE. O level for me.

I think the longest papers in 1990 were about 2.5 hours.

I don't remember anyone having special adjustments for the exams. A friend of mine had dyslexia - she didn't get any allowance for this at all .

I seem to remember where there were two 'levels' of an exam and you were in for the 'higher' paper (giving access to A&B or C grades), my school also put us in for the 'lower' paper (grades C down to G) so you would more or less be guaranteed a grade, even if it was the lowest one. So you sat two papers as a kind of insurance!

I was the second year of sitting all GCSEs in 1989.
Each subject had one or two papers, though many also had a coursework element including subjects like Maths, which also counted towards the grade.
MFL had three, though often sat in 1 or 2 sittings - speaking, listening and written.

GCSE papers then were using 1.5-2 hours, with some shorter such as aspects of the language papers.
A levels were 3 hours, but not GCSEs.

I sat O'levels in 1981. I can't remember how many exams. I don't remember any coursework except a portfolio for Art. I am fairly sure I sat exams for English language and literature so not 100% coursework, though possibly i could be confusing them with A'level.

I don't remember anyone having special adjustments for the exams. A friend of mine had dyslexia - she didn't get any allowance for this at all

Dyslexic friend got extra time for degree finals in 1993, so I think it was beginning to change.

That's good to hear.

GCSE Geog in 1989 was 2.5 hour paper. DS currently has longest at 2 hours which was RS paper 1

There was dyslexia time allowance. You got 25% extra time if the school said you were dyslexic by late 80s. School I moved to in the 6th form used to make sure anyone who worked slowly was officially "dyslexic".

I think we had fewer exams but longer. For A-level I had 2x 3 hour exams in subjects that dd this year had 3x 2 hour exams.
I know that for GCSE pretty much all the exams I did were 2 or 2.5 hours, and generally 2 per subject.

That's interesting - I wonder why my friend wasn't given it? It was never mentioned at all. She was long known to be dyslexic but obviously I have no idea whether this was officially diagnosed. She got nothing for A Levels either. Fortunately she got the grades she needed to go on to do her degree.

It's really interesting how many of you say that you had to do coursework - I took a couple of GCSE's in 1989 and the rest in 1990, and we had no coursework at all (thank goodness, lazy sod that I was). But I do remember having 2 papers per subject, as well as language orals and extra music papers.

As I recall, languages (French and German) were coursework-free. Maths - coursework was optional (I opted not to). There was a small coursework element in Physics; not in Chemistry/Biology (combined ChemBio paper). History and English lang/lit were at least 50% coursework and Art was 100% coursework. I didn't do Geography but there was definitely a coursework element as I remember a friend roping me in to help her do some kind of traffic survey for her geography coursework in the holidays.

I’m fairly sure English was 100% coursework when I did mine in 1990.

Then it was one exam per subject.

To add, I can't remember now which exam boards we used - it was a mixture of different boards for different subjects, I imagine to tie in with the teachers' expertise and preferences.

We did some coursework units in Biology. You’d do an experiment and get graded on it.

I did O Levels and they were pretty much all 2 written exams. Languages had an oral and a listening paper. Some of the practical subjects had some course work, eg. woodwork, needlework, music. I think some of them may have had a practical exam too eg. cookery

A bit off topic but what happened to AS level exams? Subject exams to be taken at A level taken at end of first year of Sixth Form. Results disclosed on application form to chosen Universities. My eldest daughter did them but then it seemed that they were stopped altogether? Unless it was just her school?

I did them - do you mean the S for Special papers taken alongside A level? Graded as pass, merit, distinction? Pretty tough, and not related to the A level content - much more general.