iGCSEs

[montenuit]

So now the GCSEs have become more rigorous, more content, grades up to 9 (A**) are they harder than iGCSEs?

iGCSEs were often preferred by some independent schools, because they are a better foundation for A level. Is that still the case?

Have they changed/increased content too? They also have changed to grades 9-1.

Book marking as my daughter may be moving schools and, if so, will do iGCSEs.

Interesting article in the Mail about iGCSEs yesterday suggesting that they are easier and independent schools that use them are taking easier tests therefore disadvantaging state school pupils who want to go to Uni.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5879229/Top-private-schools-including-Eton-shun-new-GCSEs-favour-easier-tests.html

Does anyone have a paywall subscription to the Times to find out what the linked Sunday Times article actually said?

The DM's research/evidence seems to amount to this:

"Most private school pupils are instead taking the 'easier' international GCSE, which has not been subject to the government's reforms, The Sunday Times reports."

and

"Richard Cairns, head of Brighton College, said ... 'There are legitimate concerns that the new GCSE is now harder than the international GCSEs sat by many private schools."

I don't find this conclusive evidence that the GCSE has become harder. I wonder if the Sunday Times provides a bit more detail?

*sorry, should have said "that the GCSE has become harder than the IGCSE." Obviously, it's become harder.

I was under the impression the IGCSE's were only moving to the new harder style this year? I know it was always supposed to be harder than the GCSE and I know our school would always want to do the harder exam. Interested to find out.

I've got a yr 11 taking GCSE and a y10 taking IGCSE. IGCSE maths is a bit harder than the new maths GCSE. The rest are very similar.

That article was just click-bait press shite IMO.

I've got parents evening at DS's school tomorrow (where they do IGCSE in nearly all subjs). I will interrogate the teachers and report back.

The article was a joke. Brighton College has taken over from Wellington (who have been very quiet since AS left) as the most self-promoting boarding school in the UK.

Indy schools sit IGCSEs because they don't include course work, it's all final assessment. Despite this, there is another article in the Times suggesting that Indys have kept to IGCSEs because they still include course work! GCSEs have now returned to the final assessment system and have also been made ramped up for the new 1-9 gradings. IGCSEs are running a year behind on the new grading system, so for this year only there will be a gap. But its only for one year. And for the most able the highest grade they are able to obtain is A*, not the superior 9. BC have their knickers in a twist because they are worried that their results may not be comparatively as good this year.

DD sits 1-9 IGCSEs and GCSEs next year and the syllabus has been geared up since DS sat 2 years ago. You can particularly see that the GCSE languages syllabus has changed. DS sat 2 IGCSE languages and one GCSE (studied in 1 year) and the gap was huge. DD's school sits a combination of GCSEs/IGCSEs and was happy to change to the new more demanding GCSEs for languages but then didn't because of the timing of the oral exams, they prefer to sit them as early as possible. An option state school might prefer but can't take, so not entirely fair.

I actually think that now its all final assessment there is no reason for the Indys to not all move to GCSEs. The only thing I can see preventing it is that the boards market IGCSEs as the exams Eton etc sit, and thats probably worth a lot to them.

I imagine private schools didn’t necessarily stick with IGCSEs because they’re easier than the 9-1 GCSEs but because the introduction of the 9-1 GCSEs has been such a shambles that anyone with a choice (i.e. can afford to ignore league tables) would steer well clear until they’re slightly more estabilised.

I can get behind the Sunday Times paywall. Here are two key paragraphs:

*Of the 30 top private schools such as Eton College and Winchester, only one is exclusively doing GCSEs while the rest are largely taking the international GCSE, widely seen as an easier test. More than 500,000 state school pupils are doing the new tougher GCSEs, which Nick Gibb, the schools minister, has said are “more rigorous”.

Head teachers have warned that state pupils could end up with worse exam results, which would “shut them out from top universities through no fault of their own”, according to Richard Cairns, headmaster of Brighton College. Unlike all his private school rivals, Brighton has chosen to do only GCSEs this summer.*

The rest of the story contains not a shred of evidence to show whether iGCSEs are or are not easer. No study, no stats, nothing. It's even ambiguous as to whether Nick Gibb has called the new GCSEs more rigorous than iGCSEs or just more rigorous than old GCSEs!

It reads as though Richard Cairns is the sole source for this article and he is not a disinterested party.

I'm not remotely qualified to make any claims about relative standards, but I would be very surprised if "top" private schools opted for "cushy" exams at 16 because surely they want their students to have the best possible preparation for A levels?

DD2 is at a top of the league tables indie and her BF is at a top of the league tables grammar. The grammar is doing all new GCSEs and DD2's indie is sticking with IGCSEs until they are sure this isn't going to be another 'reform' disaster. The big difference is in content. Both girls take the same MFL but the IGCSE has 2 more tenses and significantly more vocab. In STEM subjects, the IGCSE requires that they know formulae and apply them.

Students are required to know formulae and apply them for the 9-1 STEM GCSEs too, one of the changes was to bin a lot of the formula sheets.

thanks !
very interesting...

I'm at an international school & we teach IGCSEs.

Can't speak for every subject but in mine the advantages are:

1. coursework (although we are phasing it out due to flagrant cheating - our kids don't like writing essays if they can commission them)
2. avoidance/postponement of the appalling embuggerance that has attended the introduction of 9-1
3. avoidance/postponement of ghastly dull 'pale male & stale' text options for new GCSE
4. yup, I'd say it's easier.

But I suspect it varies widely from subject to subject, & it's all very much in flux atm.

easier?
easier/less content?
or just less mucked about with?

What coursework, Purple?

Neither of my older DCs have ever had any coursework for an IGCSEs.

My DS had coursework for both English courses, but nothing else. All GCSEs. I think his maths had more content than GCSE - included differentiation, 3D trig etc

Mine have/had no English coursework at all, all final exam for IGCSEs.

I agree with Noble's points. Indys have a choice and that isn't fair. Also, they have a bottomless budget for text books and can charge parents for new ones as the curriculum changes. State schools have a limited and ever decreasing budget.
Brighton College have bought in early for all GCSEs for the publicity. DS's school does that kind of self-promoting stuff a lot as well and it annoys the hell out of me. Interesting to note that you never see Wellington mentioned now they no longer have a fame hungry HT.

Both Edexcel & Cambridge have coursework options - but schools can opt for an additional terminal paper instead - which is what we're moving towards.

With most GCSE courses going exam only, I suspect IGCSEs will follow suit.

Oh dear,just another example of self promotion by Brighton rent a quote.

Our school top students sit IGSE because they felt the other old GCSEs were too easy last year. Then the harder GCSEs came in. Frankly it is a shambles apart from WJEC which folk agree is easier for lower forms.