IGCSE/new GCSE and school choice

[groundhogmummy]

Looking round independent secondary schools - many seem to use the same line - that they will continue using mix of IGCSE/GCSE depending on preferred syllabus etc etc and obviously many see use of IGCSE whilst new exams bed in a good way of avoiding 'teething troubles'

Could this be an advantage of choosing an independent education over next five years, or does anyone foresee that this could be a negative? how long will the two systems run - can the plug be pulled on IGCSE?

It is one of the reasons I am considering not sending my dc to high performing state, but am I worrying unnecessarily? I am feeling very cynical ....league tables, easier/harder exams, moving goal posts, jaded teachers....!!

I don't think the "plug" can be pulled on IGCSE's 1. the government who I'm assuming you think might pull the plug don't own or control then exam boards and independent schools are free from government control (the clue is in then name) and thus to use whatever exam they like and 2 I believe they are used by students abroad hence the I = international. Of course schools can stop using them but I doubt any would do this when a pupil is half way through the course.

I'm a secondary English teacher. AQA have now dropped their iGCSE equivalent for English and I know it's happening in some other subjects. We're moving back to the new mainstream GCSEs. My guess is that this will happen more and more leaving just re old Cambridge iGCSEs which have always been there. For state schools, it's really been just a brief dalliance. The English GCSEs are now all exam based- no coursework.

My DD did iGCSE maths are her independent school. The grade boundaries were more advantageous for the B/C students, of whom there were a few. The high flyers still got the A*s. Who worries if they have iGCSE or not? No one ever asks!

DS1's state school usually use the AQA syllabus for English Literature GCSE. We were told that for his year group they would be changing to the AQA iGCSE syllabus instead (for exams in 2016). Then they suddenly changed their minds and went back to the GCSE. Thank you to Emu1969 for shedding some light on why.

They were also planning to move to the CIE iGCSE syllabus for English language but have done a U-turn on that too.

So at the moment it looks as though he will be taking three iGCSEs, six GCSEs and two Level 2 certificates.

In five years time, I don't think it will matter which he did, just that he has done them.