Why private schools are opting out of GCSE and A-level exams | Letters
by Letters from Economics | The Guardian on (#46F6J)
Andrew Halls of King's College School writes that there is barely any difference in difficulty between GCSEs and IGCSEs, while Bernie Evans is concerned about the Pre-U examinations
It is untruthful to suggest that private schools take IGCSEs because they are easier (Labour calls for an inquiry into GCSE changes 'gamed by private schools', 31 December).
Until 2010, grade inflation had been rampant at both GCSE and A-level for at least a decade. During the years of New Labour, syllabuses were dumbed down, with simplistic coursework a key requirement of almost every subject. For a few unhappy years, GCSEs even became modular, as A-levels then were, so the nation's children took public exams every single summer from year 10 to year 13.
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