Teachers step up pressure for the return of the O-level

The qualification, currently titled the International GCSE, is already popular in private schools, where it is seen as a better preparation for A-levels.

There was a huge show of support for it in a public consultation this year.

But ministers refused to approve the course for use in state secondary schools and official league tables of results.

Now, however, the Department for Education has indicated that the IGCSE could be approved for state funding - if it is given a new name.

Officials from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the Government body responsible for accrediting exams, are planning talks with boards which set the exam.

Ministers would face embarrassment if swathes of state schools ditched GCSEs for the new qualification. But they could also seize on it to promote a wider choice for schools, as they recently did with the International Baccalaureate.

Independent school leaders want the qualification called the O-level, although a name such as International Certificate of Education is more likely.

The exams were developed primarily for schools overseas but have attracted increasing interest from British private schools dissatisfied with the standard GCSE. They are similar to the old O-level - scrapped in 1987 -because pupils are tested in final exams after a two-year course.

There is a coursework option but most schools do not use it. Teachers also consider questions to be more 'traditional' and open-ended.

A recent review by the QCA found the IGCSE was more demanding in some subjects than the standard exam.

This, plus the fact that their syllabuses cover different ground, effectively rules out their introduction in state secondaries under a name similar to GCSE. But the QCA is likely to give formal accreditation if a new title can be agreed.

The consultation exercise found 73 per cent support for the IGCSE among respondents who included heads, teachers and academics.