I-GCSEs to be taken by state school pupils

[Looking for help]

So far from seeking to gear an entire system to the brightest few, all I am arguing for is for the brightest few to have something which will discriminate them from the rest and show what they are capable of, because at the moment nearly everyone can be an A grade student.

I think you should tell that to my daughter

Who will decide then who can take this exam?
I would not trust a school to make this decision for me/my child.
I had to have a very long discussion about a tech GCSE that my daughter was sitting. Unbeknown to me the school put her in for foundation level - something to do with her not having completed her coursework in time. After many conversations with the head of year, head of technology etc etc, it was finally decided that if she handed in the coursework (which she was always going to do, she just hadn't pulled it all together yet) they would let her sit the higher paper. This was after me saying she would not sit the foundation papaer, as quite frankly tech is not top of her list of priorities. The school,were saying it was too much pressure on her and she would secure a C in foundation very easily, while she may get a D if she sat the higher paper. I still couldn't care less whether she got a C or a D but I think the school are worried about their standing in league tables. Anyway moderated coursework results are back and she has an A* in it. So even if she went in and wrote just her name at the top of the exam she will most probably get a C, and anything else will get her a B, and most likely an A.
The point is no-one has the right to make a unilateral decision, and I think schools use backhanded methods to make sure they protect their position in league tables. It is fantastic to be able to say year after year they get a 100% pass rate at GCSE, however if this is because 50% of the kids are sitting foundation level, where I believe on the food tech exam one of the questions a couple of years ago was 'How do you make a cup of tea?', it is complete and utter nonsense.

I still think that an A* at GCSE is a fine measure of someone's academic ability (not in tech though ) and the iGCSE is not needed to tell us this.

Dinah - I don't for a second believe all children are ultra intelligent, I just believe all should be given the same chances, and this should not depend on the school attended or your postcode

[Sassie'sDad]

I completely disagree with your view. The IGCSE is a very academicly respectable examination.

[Bewildered]

An interesting article from the Beeb, regarding National Curriculum, I-GCSEs and GCSEs...

It could turn out to be one of the most important changes to the school curriculum and examinations in England since the GCSE replaced O Levels over 20 years ago...

[ourmaminhavana]

I'm with Sassie's dad on this, the IGCSE is more academic. Clearly universities need to be able to differentiate between candidates which is almost impossible currently. I think it's ridiculous that Oxbridge is turning away candidates with billions of 'A*'ds, but obviously this is because so many potential students are presenting with them. The result is you have large numbers of aggrieved students not knowing how they could possibly have done better and yet still failing in their aim. We need an exam where only the top students will be awarded a top mark and a bell curve is the end result. As Dinah put it so well, this isn't elitist, it's realistic.
Many moons ago when I did my 'A' levels I needed 3 'B's to go to a decent university to study Law, now such a result would be seen as a failing!

[mike1880]

If I remember correctly my offer from a Russell Group university in the very distant past was a C and 2 Ds (although to be fair that was seen by my peers as a very jammy offer).

Mike

[Marylou]

Russell Group - 3 x Cs wanted. Maybe slightly later but still a very long time ago...

[KS10]

Have I understood this correctly?
- iGCSEs, if available, tend to be offered by Indies
- the top universities prefer their intake to have iGCSES
- we want to narrow the gap between pupils at state schools and those at Indies
so why continue to disadvantage our brighter state school pupils? Surely it would be better in the long run to give them the chance to show what they are capable of!

[Looking for help]

Sorry I seem to be in the minority, and some of you clearly don't understand what I'm saying. I am not against the iGCSE per se, just that either everyone does it or everyone doesn't, discrimination is not helpful.

[Amber]

Sorry I seem to be in the minority, and some of you clearly don't understand what I'm saying. I am not against the iGCSE per se, just that either everyone does it or everyone doesn't, discrimination is not helpful.

I am neither pro or anti, but would like to see an exam system which caters for all, including the very brightest - it is this latter I think is lacking now from the 'normal' GCSEs, and while that is the case, the iGCSE might be a good way to plug the gap. Better still would be to have one exam with a very good system of grade boundaries.

[KS10]

However what we need to find is the line of best fit, and the iGCSE may be for a few but it is certainly not for the majority. It is elitist and designed to exclude, and does nothing for most of the children in this country.

This is the bit I misunderstood, but I think I now understand what you are saying.