Were there GCSE exams in 1987?

[redskyAtNigh]

DH is adamant that his brother was in the first year to sit GCSE and sat exams in 1987. I "know" this to be untrue as I sat GCSEs in 1988, and we were much heralded as the first year to take them, however DH is equally sure that his brother was the first year.

Searching online has revealed a suggestion that there "might" have been earlier GCSE pilots, but that someone taking public exams in 1987 would have sat CSE or O Level.

Is there anyone else that took GCSE exams in 1987, or remembers them happening?

1988 was the first year. We did practice papers which were joint O level and CSE papers and were similar to GCSEs.

1988, I know this as my friend’s older sister was the first year to do them, and we did ours two years later in 1990 as the third cohort to go through gcse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCE_Ordinary_Level_(United_Kingdom)#:~:text=The%20O%2Dlevel%20qualifications%20in,or%20alongside%20the%20IGCSE%20qualifications.

This is interesting to be put right because I did my O Levels in 1984 and my dad was a teacher (not at my school). All these years I was so sure that we were the last, and the year below me was the first to take GCSEs in 1985 because I remember my dad was grumbling about the syllabus changes while I was doing my first year of A levels. Turns out I was talking rubbish about the dates of the exams, but I guess he probably was complaining in 1985/6 as he would have had to be preparing for it in advance.

I sat o levels in 1985 and they were slowly rolling out the sixteen plus qualification that eventually became GCSE. There was only one subject I took that was 16+. I think it was chemistry.

I did my O Levels in 1985 in the south west and I’m sure they were coming in the next year, in fact I seem to remember one subject you could do GCSEs in, maybe it was home economics or something? Maybe they trialed certain areas earlier? This would make sense, so did your DH live in a different area to you?

It probably depended on the school area and also the exam board.

There were more exam boards back then. Most of my 1988 GCSEs in Dorset were SEG (Southern) but 2 were MEG (Midlands). Pretty sure AQA and EdExcel didn't exist back then.

I did something called 16plus maths in 1985. Got a gse result and an o level result.

1986!!
It was a science subject for us too, I think some did Physics at GCE level.

I did two GCSE's in 1987 and the rest were CSE's. We were the first year to trial them. This was in cambridge.

Definitely 1988, I did the last year of O levels in 1987, did shit so had to do another year of study and retake the following summer (1988) except I had to do GCSEs because O levels had gone!

www.google.com/search?q=16%2B+exam+in+1985&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#lfId=ChxjMe

Yes. I sat GCSE physics, but in 1984. It was called 16+

I was in the first cohort to do GCSEs and took them in 1988. I did French a year early, so it was an O Level.

I took a maths GCSE in the summer of 1987. We were the first year to take a maths GCSE all the other exams were O level and CSE.

I was the last year of O-levels - 1987.

No. GCSE exams started in 1988. I did exams in 1987 and they were ‘O’ levels.

Last opportunity to take o level biology was November 87. I think. I can take a look at my certificate.

In 1987 we were awarded CSE and O’Levels but I seem to recall it being named 16+ ahead of the introduction of the GCSE in 1988.

I did my O’levels in 1987 in North Yorkshire and we were a pilot school for GCSE music. It didn’t go well as we had studied the wrong syllabus for some reason……

Same here.

No. First year was 1988. I was in the second year and sat mine in 1989.

No, 1988 was the first year as my then boyfriend sat them.

I took mine in 1989 and as they were still quite new, past papers were quite thin on the ground.

I sat a physics one in 1986

I took my exams in 1987 and they were O Levels.