Pupils given option to take harder exams

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More than 200 private schools, including Eton and St Paul's, have already opted to study the International GCSEs because they are judged to be more challenging than domestic courses.

But until now the Government has refused state schools permission to enter pupils for the qualifications.

The exams regulator Ofqual has approved the international courses from the Cambridge Assessment exam board under the new name of Cambridge Certificates.

A spokeswoman for Ofqual said the courses were graded the same way as GCSEs and would initially be available in subjects including English, history, maths, French, Greek and physics.

But although the courses have been approved, the Department for Children, Schools and Families has yet to decide whether to provide funding to state schools for the courses.