IGCSE branded 'marketing tool'

[UnquietDad]

here

"A head teacher leader says independent schools which enter pupils for International GCSES will create a two-tier, private-state system."

Am I the only one going, "well, duh!" at this? Like we don't have one already?

Forgive me for being a bit dim - only a state-educated grammar school boy here, so obviously I am slow on the uptake - but isn't this why people want it? Indeed, isn't this part of the thinking behind private education anyway?

IGCSEs have backfired on some private school pupils. I know a few who now have a string of B's in the results cos they did IGCSEs in 3 separate sciences and maths and these are not their strong subjects. A/A* are actually quite difficult to get in IGCSEs. They've got friends in other schools with all As cos they took the GCSEs. Not going to look good on their UCAS forms.

What a racket.

Yes - with private you're paying for the choice of education - the iGCSE route is available if you choose that. But if your local state is vocational-oriented you just don't have that choice. It seems easier for the high-acheiving states to 'contract out' to the local college - and that system does work well - but if you're in a less high-acheiving school your GCSE options ivolve lots of D&T and subjects with 'studies' rather than say, additional languages etc.

Local schools operate 6th form consortiums, I'm not sure why they can't do similar at GCSE. Logistic nightmare I suppose.

It's a bit more complicated I think.

One independent school (ok Godolphin) does the IGCSE in history I was told by two separate history teachers there that their girls found them easier because 1) no British history and 2) no course work. "Our girls are good at taking exams" I was told.

That's v interesting lazymum, if the private schools suddenly find they are not getting the strings of A/A*s any more there may be a mass exodus from the IGCSE.

Conversely, if the IGCSEs were used in state grammar schools and top stream comps then the students currently not being stretched at the moment would prob do very well.

Obviously there will still be pupils in the private schools who still get the top grades plus those in other schools that don't, but at the moment the GCSEs are at a standard that if you do the work, and are motivated, and aren't in a disrupted class, and are taught properly etc, (and get your parents to 'help' with coursework) it is quite easy to get As and A*s.

Upping the standard of GCSEs would actually make it a lot fairer all round.

Why on earth would parents pay to have their child taught a history syllabus that doesn't cover their own country? Madness.

I thought iGCSE was a better prep for IB, which is supposed to be another reason for doing it as more and more schools move over.

UQD I don't remember any O level English questions along the lines of "recite the plot". Maybe that's just me. And what's wrong with a question about the causes of the First World War? I don't get what you're cross about there.

It may be that some children do worse at iGCSE because less coursework = less help from teachers in re-writing and less help from the internet in constructing one's work in the first place. I think it would be a bit naive to think this is not an element.

Aren't boys supposed to be "better" at exams and girls at coursework? There could be a balance to be redressed here, as girls are supposed to have had a system that "suits" them better for a decade or so -- which in turn was a redress of an earlier imbalance, possibly.

oh, please don't let's start another 'the education system discriminates against boys' debate running. Mostly because it ain't true but also because this idea that girls are shit at exams REALLY grates.

Not cross about a question asking us to recite the causes of the First World War - just remarking that it asked us to do little more than reproduce, from memory, the history notes in our exercise books.

There were definitely some O Level English questions which required one to do little more than recite the plot. Been trying to find the papers online - not yet succeeded.

But you know that with such a question, the A grade would have been for the essay that not only knew its stuff, but questioned, explored, investigated. The students would have known that too. The grading system was the key.

However -- if you knew your stuff, but history was not your talent, you could still do well through hard work. And you had a good grounding in the subject then. You'd had to write it all down a number of times, no reading, copying, pasting and editing, and you'd had to learn it.

It's too easy to say that there was nothing more than reproducing notes. That's not true at all.

I would be very interested to see questions that say "recite the plot".

Edam, I don't think these theories come from nowhere. There is no smoke without fire. Maybe more boys are bad at coursework, I don't know. But it hasn't just been made up. I think it's inextricably linked to this, and to the "traditional teaching" debate, as well as the private/public debate.

Message withdrawn

Interesting site, thanks!

Hmm, 'ello 'ello. Was that deleted because it was promoting something?

see for yourself -- would this be against the rules? seems a bit odd to delete

There have been a few links to that website lately - perhaps it's being seen as advertising?

Yes, but don't worry - its still okay/encouraged to advertise the Guradian on here.