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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Loserdog3000 (talk | contribs) at 12:12, 1 August 2006 (→O Level Grades). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Statistics

I've changed Statistics from an uncommon subject to a common subject, because most schools I know offer it to their students (be it only clever ones and a year early :P) 84.71.91.98 18:41, 21 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Fast-tracking GCSEs

"Some public schools have even gone as far as removing GCSEs from their curricula and instead encourage their pupils to progress straight to A-level or the International Baccalaureate studies." I was not aware that this was the case; could any example be given?

I have not heard of any school doing away with GCSEs completely before moving onto A-levels, but I know a number of people who have simply become bored by GCSEs and decided to go to a college or sixth form to complete them in a fraction of the time before going on to study their A-Levels.
Also it is not unheard of to include, for example, A-Level maths or biology as well as GCSEs for students who the school deems capable of acheiving these qualifications early.
Eton has from the 2004 intake (so their last results will probably be in 2006) and I believe that Winchester, St Paul's, St Paul's Girls' and North London Collegiate are in the process of doing so.Alci12

Vocational GCSEs

The article talks about the changes happenign in Sept 2004 in the future tense. Have these actually happened yet? Thryduulf 17:51, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Exam tiers

The article says "...next is the intermediate tier, focusing on mathematics..." in a general discussion of different levels of exam. In my knoweldge the intermediate level exam is not avaiable in all subjects, perhaps only in mathematics. Is this what the article means, that in maths there is the 'extra' intermediate tier? I ask this because someone who doesn't know about GCSEs a great deal may take the article to mean that intermediate exams are about mathematics while the foundation and higher level exams focus on other areas. So maybe the article should be changed. Evil Eye 23:37, 24 July 2005

Statistics

As people are always complaining about GCSEs getting easier, I wonder if we could get statistics showing the number of pupils achieving each grade over the years? Soo 18:17, 25 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Two small issues

1. In Structure "Normally pupils take ten GCSEs, though taking more is not unusual" Students normally take 10? where did this number come from? At my school we could take anywhere between 7 and 12, depending on the subjects we chose...maybe the wording could be changed to 'on average, students take about ten GCSEs, although more or less can be taken, depending on the combination of subjects chosen" Ok, that's a bit wordy, but you get the idea.

2. At the end of History "There are many GCSEs to choose from, with subjects ranging from accounting to Urdu." OK, a) this is not to do with history and b) whey were these ones chosen? i realise it displays the range available, but its a bit unprofessional just shoving that sentance on at the end.

Corrections

I have made quite a few corrections to the article. I will outline them here:

  • Changed description of GCSEs from 'examination' to 'qualification' (because that's what they are)
  • Removed paragraph of intro made up entirely of information from later in the article, as things like a history of the qualification are not necessary for a basic understanding (which is what the article should offer)
  • Changed the description of madatory subjects: ICT and RE are not compulsary GCSEs, though they must be studied at Key Stage 4 (along with Citizenship, PE and, in Wales, Welsh)
  • Changed bit about grades: C cannot possibly represent an 'average' student, as D is the average grade; grades D-G are not fails, they are passes; reworded the U bit because it sounded like Us are only given to those who fail to complete the course; nearly all unis require C or above in English and Maths
  • Removed POV bit about schools 'exploiting' fluent foreign language speakers and entering them for the relevant GCSEs
  • Subject list: there is no such subject as 'English Language', it is called 'English'; removed English Literature, ICT and RE from madatory list (as they are not), though noted that many schools insist on English Literature also being taken; changed Science description to incorporate the new Science courses being introduced in Spetember (though I'm not an expert on Key Stage 4 Science, so please check for accuracy if you are); removed note saying that GCSE Citizenship was previously mandatory (it wasn't); moved Media Studies to common list as it is increasingly being offered as an alternative to English Lit
  • Many minor grammar corrections

- Green Tentacle 20:01, 28 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Why? - Green Tentacle 10:37, 29 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A "Controversy" Section?

Cutting to the chase, everyone knows that GCSEs are so dumbed-down that they are now worthless. Obviously, a wikipedia article worth its salt can't say that. However, it might be appropriate to include a section describing the annual controversy in the press about allegations of dumbing down versus government assertions that the exams are as hard as ever. Although it is bordering on POV, it can be statistically supported to say that the pass rate rises every single year, and short of some kind of profound misunderstanding of logic, we can therefore categorically state that EITHER each succeeding generation of children is more and more intelligent, OR the exams are getting easier every single year. It might be inferred that the increasing uselessness of GCSEs is the reason that more and more private schools have their pupils sit them early, and some are even moving away from them altogether. --Corinthian 12:55, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

I think that there needs to be strict guidelines for which sites should be placed under external revision. For example there is a link to Ashbourne College offers no actual material and gives advice that could be found on any school website.

In my opinion site should only be allowed on there if they at least contain material on the three core subjects (English, Maths, Science) otherwise this section will be used as an advertising base for the countless revision websites on the net. --Sclaydonuk 16:44, 19 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Changing

Whoever keeps changing Statistics from common GCSe to rare GCSE, don't 81.79.13.179 11:22, 23 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps you should adandon the common/uncommon/rare thing altogether. Skinnyweed 17:36, 23 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Are there are sources which indicate which subjects are more/less common, or is it an editor's opinion? If there are no sources this distinction should be removed. It should probably be removed anyway as the separation is likely to be arbitrary. -- zzuuzz (talk) 17:41, 23 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I don't understand why this list of "common" and "rare" is necessary. Surely it is only important to note the distinction between the core subjects that candidates are obliged to sit and those that are optional. --Corinthian 00:33, 26 June 2006 (UTC)
Get rid of at least common/uncommon/rare otherwise there'll be just wrangling over it. Skinnyweed (Talk | contribs) 01:16, 26 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It would be quite a dull list if we just listed all the subjects available in a single list. How should we split it? There seem to be some mandatory subjects; there are some specifically vocational subjects; and we could probably put all the languages into a single list. The current distinction between common/uncommon/rare is not a good one because it is too subjective. Any ideas? -- zzuuzz (talk) 23:25, 8 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

O Level Grades

The table shown under "History" is incorrect. Only O Level grades A, B or C were considered to be a pass. D and E grades were a fail—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 87.80.240.166 (talk • contribs) .

I'm inclined to agree. I know everyone knows it's true, but is it technically true - were grades D and E officially called fails? I cannot find a reference. -- zzuuzz (talk) 23:18, 8 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Why would they have two different grades of failing? Everything between A*-G are a pass, just A*-C are seen to be as the most desirable pass grades. D, E, F and G are still pass grades nevertheless. Only U is fail.

Uncommon Subjects

I think it is a bit inaccurate to say that Expressive arts and humanities are uncommon subjects! In schools where i live these subjects are very very popular and i think to randomly place humanities (which is Geography, History, Citizenship, Politics and RE etc) in uncommon subjects. (Neostinker 19:58, 22 July 2006 (UTC))[reply]

Does this refer to Humanities as a singhle subject (does this exist?) or the Humanities (Geog, History and RE) at my school? 195.93.21.73 16:11, 28 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

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