GCSE exams to be replaced by 'English Bac Certificate'

[Bruce Wayne]

Just in the interest of balance, I wonder what the general response was when GCSEs were introduced in place of O-levels? For the record I don't know the answer, it's not a leading question, but there are many folks who just like to grumble about change.

As with Reidy, I've heard many good things about the International Baccalaureate, but Brennan says they're different.

I found this just now http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/nov/27/labour-english-baccalaureate-languages

Seems back then Labour supported the move as it meant a greater focus on the core GCSE subjects, thus moving the temptation for schools to puff up their league table results with less academic subjects.

 

[linglong]

Just in the interest of balance, I wonder what the general response was when GCSEs were introduced in place of O-levels? For the record I don't know the answer, it's not a leading question, but there are many folks who just like to grumble about change.

As with Reidy, I've heard many good things about the International Baccalaureate, but Brennan says they're different.

I found this just now http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/nov/27/labour-english-baccalaureate-languages

Seems back then Labour supported the move as it meant a greater focus on the core GCSE subjects, thus moving the temptation for schools to puff up their league table results with less academic subjects.

Good find that Bruce interesting read i think though when it comes down to it it just shows how far to the right Labour have swung in the last 18 years or so because there's nothing between them and the Tories on this and many other areas really,great choice come election time (as one of the comments sagely puts).

God i was what 22 when the GCSE came along (long time ago) i think and again it depended on what paper you read(remember that?) on whether it was a good thing,i welcomed the change because the O level system was terrible,the pressure of exam day after being so badly taught was a sight to behold how i did as well as i did makes me wonder.

For me this issue has become as always in this idiot system we have a political football and the ONLY ones who will suffer will be the kids,not you nor I but the poor bugger who have to try and find their way through for the first couple of years or so i have pity for them simple as that.

 

[Tobin]

To be fair if it was the IBac no one would have any objections and if I was a canny headmaster I might stick 2 fingers at the government and let children do the European version. There would be nothing the government could do either as we are in the EU.

I can't believe how right Labour is today. If only John Smith never died. Tony Blair was a terrible man and I dislike his wife too - to think she hails from Liverpool.

Well I am sticking to voting for an independent candidate - if there is no one in my area then it might go to the Greens.

 

[sportbillyblue]

But the English Bac is, unfortunately.

whoops .. my bad. Just seems wrong based on my kid's experience. My lad accumulated 18 points in his penultimate year, more throughout the final year so despite a couple of cock-ups in his finals still ended up with 35 points which would have seen himaccepted in all but one of his preferred unis. It served the girl even better as she had / has considerable learning difficulties and basically ended up doing what in my day would have been the apprenticeship route.

Out of curiousity are kids still offered the 'skill route' whilst still at school ?

 

[EFC Si]

What's actually wrong with the current system and why does it need changing?

I mean, there's always been O levels/GCSE's, and everyone who take them turned out fine. Seriously, what are they expecting people to be like after finishing their exams??

And School isn't the place where you learn about how the real world works, that's something you excperience and learn once you've left School. So if that's what they're hoping to acheive then it is impossible.

 

[Tree13]

What's actually wrong with the current system and why does it need changing?

The same that's been wrong for the last two decades: the grade boundaries get moved every year, making comparison between different years of graduates meaningless.

During my postgrad, which I sat when I was thirty, I had to proofread and evaluate undergrad essays.... one second-year undergrad (aged 20) decided the best way to get under the word limit for one particular essay was to remove every instance of the word "the". She handed it in and was amazed to be told she had failed: she had an A star in English at GCSE, whereas I "only" got a B.

 

[The-Golden-Vision]

The following questions and answers were collected from last year's GCSE exams, and are* some of the answers given by British students writing their fifth form GCSE Exams last year. These are genuine responses from 16 year olds.

Geography
Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutant like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: What is a planet?
A: A body of earth surrounded by sky.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Sociology
Q: What guarantees may a mortgage company insist on?
A: If you are buying a house, they will insist you are well endowed.

Q: In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A: Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Biology
Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q: What is artificial insemination?
A: When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow. [He got an A]

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorised? (e.g.abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts - the brainium, the borax the abdominal cavity.* The branium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A,E,I,O and U.

Q: What is the Fibula?
A: A small lie.

Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby.

Q: What is the most common form of birth control?
A: Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium.

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section."
A: The caesarean section is a district in Rome.

Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman emperor.

Q: What is a terminal illness?
A: When you are sick at the airport

Q: Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A: Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and they look like umbrellas.

English
Q: Use the word "judicious" in a sentence to show you understand its meaning
A: Hands that judicious can be soft as your face. {do dishes}

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Technology
Q: What is a turbine?
A: Something an Arab or Sikh wears on his head.

 

[HSD]

I haven't read up on it much at all.

But from the brief idea of it, I think it's a terrible idea.
It seems like they're just trying to make everything easier for kids in school and it annoys me so much.