Anybody enter their kids for early GCSEs?

[JazminKennedy]

Just wondering if anybody on here has entered their children for early GCSEs and what was the earliest age?

Gelatinous,
I had a look of these websites you mentioned.What you suggested really make sense.It is like we want our children to grow stronger, but not necessarily that tall, high above everybody else!
I always look for the challenging quesions without moving them from level x to level x+1,but schools are obviouly obsessed with levelling and labelling, seems that's the number to prove they can stretch any ability.I am not saying they are doing it completely rubbish(guess its better than doing nothing.),but when they are not doing it in this more sensable way as you suggested, is it down to me to find resorces to tutor them again?
I can never get it right.

what gelatinous says makes complete sense. I'm one for just ignoring the exams utterly until the time comes for them to do them with their peer group and extend them until that time comes. Just because an exam is scheduled for a particular time, it doesnt mean that they cant continue to grow beyond that level.

You have to be a bit careful with taking A levels over more than 2 years.... for many subjects (not sure if all, but definitely the more competitive areas) the A levels have to have been taken within a 2 year time frame... the universities specify this.

Worth remembering, because if Joe takes biology at 13, maths at 14 and physics ad chemistry at 17... his bio and maths may not be 'counted' towards his UCAS points, so taking them early would defeat the object! (assuming a bright child wanted to go on to study at University of course!)

Dd took her maths gcse last year at 11 and passed with A* and is currently studying a level work. A girl in her maths class went on to do the a level maths and passed. Dd didn't want to do it! She is in year 8 now and is 12. Recently took an nvq level 2 German. Gcse's start in year 9 at dd's school and some take them then or do them in year 10 rather than year 11. Dd very academic but wants to take the rest of her gcse's later rather than sooner because she is worried she will get "a rubbish grade".

The only reason I would want my child to sit GCSE early would be because of the discrepancy between what level the school thinks she is and what level I think she is. Perhaps then she would not have to spend hours of the school week plodding through things she can already do.

I would be happy if the school did nrich type things and for her to gain depth of understanding at the level she is at.

I see that the news has just broken of govt. plans to scrap GCSE and bring back the old, essentially two tiered system of CSE and O level as well as scrapping the ENC at secondary level. So perhaps that will put an end to the production line we have created of pushing children through exams at ever younger ages for no educational benefit at all.

Call me old fashioned but I would personally welcome the death and burial of GCSE as there has been a dumbing down of standards and the competitive exam boards vary in quality of curriculum too much.

Now if they will only see sense and bring in one, national exam board like Scotland has, and stop schools from shopping for the easiest exam board curriculum to use to enhance league tables.