gcse higher/lower tiers advice, please

[citrus1]

Hi, could anyone explain the following - if you are doing GCSE's and you are "more able", do you get entered for higher tiers (or is that just for Maths) - my only concern is that if it turns out to be very tough, you may achieve a C/D whereas you may have got an A-C with the normal exams. Do you get a chance to do both? Sorry, but my GCSE knowledge is limited! Whatever happened to good old CSEs and O'levels!!! I hope this makes sense to someone! Thanks.

GCSE English / English Literature (AQA exam board):

Higher/Foundation tiers:

Higher - A* - E
Foundation - C - G

A 'C' grade is a 'C' grade, no matter what tier it is taken in. Exam results will not have tier of entry on them.

In my school, students who are a 'safe' C or above sit higher, students who are a C/D borderline or lower sit foundation.
The content is the same and the decision on tier of entry can be made a couple of weeks before the exam.

"I was double entered for English Language - I got a CSE grade 2 and an O level grade A."

Although that shows how wildly inconsistent standards are (so much for A-C = 1). And in many subjects, that sort of double entering was complicated by substantially different syllabuses, which also made re-setting people difficult as they got further into the course.