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More private schools ditch 'mindless' exams
Tim Ross, Education Correspondent12 Nov 2008
A SOARING number of private schools are abandoning "mindless" A-levels and GCSEs in favour of harder courses.
Rival international qualifications are seen as tougher than the mainstream exams, which many teachers believe have become easier in recent years.
Both the International Baccalaureate diploma for sixth-formers and the International GCSE - which has been likened to the old O-level - are in growing demand.
The findings are in a new analysis by the Independent Schools Council. They follow another summer of record GCSE and A-level results.
Ministers have hailed the rising number of top grades at A-level and GCSE as evidence of improving standards. But the ISC found that:
●Between 2007 and 2008, 31 per cent more private schools entered pupils for International GCSEs.
●Half of the 570 ISC schools questioned entered pupils for International GCSEs and more than 40,000 of the exams were taken in private schools this year.
●Twice as many independent school teenagers took the International Baccalaureate instead of A-levels this year than in 2007.
At King's College School in Wimbledon, all sixth-formers followed the International Baccalaureate for the first time this year. Headmaster Andrew Halls said: "There is a growing awareness that the A-level is not fit for purpose."
One in four A-levels now awarded is a grade A - meaning top universities struggle to pick out the best students.
"But more important than that, the syllabuses are veering towards the mindless," Mr Halls said. "They are nothing like what an A-level syllabus was 20 years ago. Bright boys and girls are really not stimulated by them."
He warned schools were put off by the increasing emphasis on retaking exams, with A-levels and now GCSEs becoming modular. The International Baccalaureate is attractive in part as it is seen as "independent" from the Government. It is available at more than 100 independent and state schools in Britain.
Pupils study six subjects, which must include a foreign language, a science, a humanity and maths.
Many leading private schools, including St Paul's in Barnes, Eton, North London Collegiate School, and Dulwich College have opted for the International GCSE in some subjects.
But because ministers refuse to accredit the exam for use in league tables, some leading schools do not appear in official rankings. The ISC report said it was time this changed, particularly when "rumours of grade inflation are rife" in the conventional exams.
The study suggested standards in GCSE maths had been "slipping" in recent years. To score a grade A* in GCSE maths, pupils needed 80 per cent of the available marks in 2000, but just 70 per cent by 2006. A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "GCSEs are a high-quality qualification, well-recognised by employers and higher education."
Reader views (6)
***A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "GCSEs are a high-quality qualification, well-recognised by employers and higher education."***
Yeah - well recognised for what they are, paper 'qualifications' that are paper thin on usefulness. They WERE, once upon a long time ago, high quality qualifications, but then the Eddykashun Ministry decided they make themselves look good by making everyone get 'A' passes. It's actually quite insulting that they thought no one would notice. Shows what they think generally of people's intellect, doesn't it!
...and don't forget, it's not just the grade the kids get, it's the standard of questions they are asked as well.
- Rogan, Irving, 13/11/2008 08:21
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While we are at it let us bring back the Seven Liberal Arts.
- W Joseph, London, UK, 13/11/2008 07:44
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Oh and Crash Gordon said it was all about education education education... The UK has now one of the worst education in the world, plus one of the biggest recessions!
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 12/11/2008 23:33
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I'm sure all the students struggling hard to complete their coursework and study for finals will appreciate the comment that their efforts are considered 'mindless'
- Jj, Dubai UAE, 12/11/2008 18:20
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As an even older codger, I had to take Latin, no opt out.
- Ciccio, Toronto, Canada., 12/11/2008 16:31
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"Pupils study six subjects, which must include a foreign language, a science, a humanity and maths" ... funny that, sounds just like what we 'old codgers' used to do back in the 80's 
- John, London, 12/11/2008 13:19
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