GCSE

In Year 10, pupils will begin a number of two-year courses leading to assessment at GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). The days when a very large percentage of pupils left school at 16 are gone, so GCSE is no longer a school leaving qualification for many young people in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the subjects your child chooses to study between the ages of 14 and 16 are important as a foundation for further learning – lifelong learning. Furthermore, since GCSEs are externally assessed, results give a useful benchmark of performance at age 16. GCSEs replaced O levels and CSEs in 1988. You may have been familiar with those qualifications.

The National Curriculum (England) and this school's options policy provide a broad range of subjects in preparation for further study at IB Diploma or Advanced Level. In choosing GCSE options, you and your child should consider:

• What he/she enjoys studying
• What his/her strengths are

The best ways of working for him/her (some students do better with practical work, others with more formal examinations)

Those about to enter Year 10 should also consider:

• Whether they are choosing a subject because they think it will involve less work! (all GCSE subjects involve work but that work may take many different forms)
• Whether they are choosing a subject because they like the teacher, rather than what is taught (just as pupils come and go, so do our staff)
  

It usually takes two years to study for a GCSE: coursework is part of most of them. This means work carried out over an extended period, which might mean essays, field work reports, art work or other kinds of practical investigation. GCSEs are graded A* - G. The grade your child gets will depend on coursework and exam marks. Pupils might take exams only once (at the end of Year 11, aged 16) or twice (at the end of Years 10 and 11) Pupils will typically take between six and fifteen GCSEs (the very high numbers are more common in large independent schools). Nine or ten is considered a good range.

GCSE tiers

At some time during Year 10, when your child is aged 15-16, teachers will decide which tier they should enter in each of their GCSEs. Each tier has a range of target grades that can be awarded. The aim is for your child to take an exam in which their ability will be tested, without their being thrown off course by questions which are much too difficult or much too easy. Some GCSE subjects are not tiered: art and design, history, music, PE and religious studies. All other GCSE subjects have tiers.