General Certificate of Secondary Education

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) (Welsh: Tystysgrif Gyffredin Addysg Uwchradd (TGAU)) is the name of a set of British qualifications, taken by secondary school students at age 14–16 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some independent schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now moving away from the GCSE system, instead opting for the coursework-free IGCSE system.

In Scotland GCSEs do not form part of the Scottish National Qualifications, with schools offering opting Standard Grade, Access 3, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 qualifications from the Scottish Qualifications Authority under the separate education system that has always existed there.

Structure

GCSE examinations are taken in a variety of subjects, which are usually decided by the student themselves between the ages of 13 and 14 (in Year 9), study of chosen subjects begins between the ages of 14 and 15 (year 10) and exams are then taken between 15 and 16 (year 11).

There is a requirement that all students study English language, Mathematics, Science, and PE during Key Stage 4 (the GCSE years of school); in England, some form of ICT and Citizenship must also be studied; in Wales, Welsh must also be studied. These do not necessarily have to be for a GCSE qualification, but they often are (especially for English, Mathematics and Science).

For the reasons above, virtually all candidates take GCSEs in English, Mathematics and Science. In addition, many schools also require that students take English Literature, at least one Modern Foreign Language, at least one technology subject, Religious Education (often a short, or "half", course) and ICT (though increasingly this is the DiDA, rather than the GCSE). Students can then fill the remainder of their timetable (normally around nine different subjects) with their own choice of subjects (see list below).

At the end of the two-year GCSE course, each student receives a grade for each subject. These grades ranged from A (best) to G (worst) in the early years of the GCSEs, although the spectrum is now A* to G, with A* being introduced in 1994 to identify the very top-end of attainment. Those who fail a course are given a U (unclassified) and that subject is not included on their certificates. Receiving five or more C grades is often a requirement for taking A-levels at a sixth-form college or regular college after leaving secondary school. Most universities typically require a C or better in English and Mathematics, regardless of a student's performance in their A-level or Foundation Degree course after leaving school. Many students who fail to get a C in English and Mathematics (and increasingly, ICT) will retake their GCSEs in those subjects at a later date.

There were initially three tiers for most examinations: "Basic" (renamed "Foundation"), "Intermediate" and "Higher" tier. Most subjects moved to two or one tier during the 1990s. Mathematics remained an exception, retaining the Intermediate tier, but as of summer 2006 (first exam in 2008), Mathematics will only have two tiers: Foundation and Higher. Students are entered for a certain tier based on their ability. The tier a student is entered for affects the range of grades that student could attain. In most subjects (but, until 2008, not Mathematics), Higher candidates can achieve grades A*-D (with an allowed E if the candidate narrowly misses the D grade boundary), and Foundation can achieve C-G. In Mathematics, the three-tier system means that Higher candiates can attain A*-C, Intermediate B-E and Foundation D-G. Failing to reach a grade within your tier will result in a U (for example a Higher student of Mathematics who fails to reach a C will receive a U, and cannot access D-G).

Some subjects, such as Science, can be split up into several different subjects: it is possible to be examined on Science as a whole, with one, or more often two, GCSEs (typically known as Double Science), or with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics separately (where 3 GCSEs are awarded, and typically known as Triple Science). The Triple Science program typically involves coursework-style examinations throughout the 14-15 age group, whereas Double Science typically has standard 'modular' examinations, with both types able to be retaken later on.

There are now five exam boards offering GCSEs, AQA, Edexcel, OCR the WJEC and the CCEA; while all boards are under the control of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) who deal with examination conduct and legislation, the boards are self-sufficient non-profit organisations. Traditionally, there were a smaller number of regional exam boards, but changes in legislation allowed schools to use any board before a series of mergers reduced the number to five. Some examining boards offer a "modular" structure for some subjects, alongside the more traditional "linear" structure. In a modular structure, one or more modular examinations which focus on a sub-set of the syllabus are taken at intermediate stages of the course. Modular examinations may be re-taken to attempt to improve results. In addition to modular examinations, a modular structure may also include final or terminal examinations which examine the whole syllabus.

In most subjects, one or more coursework assignments may also be completed. Coursework typically contributes to 20-40% of the final GCSE grade in most subjects, but this varies. In subjects such as Design and Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Art, Music Studies, and Architecture, the proportion of the total mark relying on coursework is 60%. GCSE Music coursework accounts for 60% of the final grade, but in Mathematics or Science, it only accounts for 20%. In ICT, for example, coursework is known to take over 200 hours per student during the two year course, although the media scarcely comments on this. This is due to the more practical nature of the qualification.

History

GCSEs were introduced for teaching in September 1986, and replaced both the O-level GCE (Ordinary level General Certificate of Education) and the CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) qualifications, which suffered problems due to the two-tieredness of the system. Grade C of the GCSE was set at equivalent to O Level Grade C and effectively CSE Grade 1 (although the latter was officially recognised as an O-level pass at A, B or C). The table below shows what each GCSE grade is equivalent to:

GCSE Grade	O Level Grade	CSE Grade
A*/A	A (pass with distinction)
B	B (pass)
C	C (pass)	1
D	D (pass)	2
E	E (pass)	3
F	U (ungraded)	4
G		5
U (unclassified)		U (ungraded)

Some commentators feel that the GCSE system is a dumbing down from the old GCE / O-level system (as it took the focus away from the theoretical side of many subjects and taught students about real-world implications and issues relating to ICT and Citizenship), joking that it stands for General Certificate for Sitting an Exam. Some public schools (private schools), have even gone as far as removing GCSEs from their curricula and instead encourage their pupils to progress straight to A-level or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme studies.

On the other hand, it could be said to be better because it takes into account the ability of the student in the duration of the course, through coursework. However, some private schools are replacing the GCSEs with IGCSEs whereby there is an option to do no coursework, as schools see it as an opportunity to cheat.

Introduced in 2000 was the Vocational GCSE, which encouraged students to take the work-related route and included courses such as engineering, applied business, ICT and leisure and tourism. From September 2004, the word Vocational was dropped and a Vocational GCSE is now known simply as a GCSE. This is to show that the vocational side is "on par" with the traditional academic side.

List of GCSE subjects

Note: Not all schools offer many of the subjects in this list. Also note that subjects that are extremely rare, such as minor languages or subjects taught by only one or two schools, are not listed below.

Mandatory subjects

English
- Many schools also insist on students taking English Literature
Mathematics
Science (students can take three different 'routes'):
- Science as a single subject (which includes elements of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics)
- Science as a single subject with a complementary Applied Science GCSE (before the 2007 examination students instead took a Double Award Science course, also worth two GCSEs)
- Science as three single subjects: Biology, Chemistry, and Physics

Common subjects

Art and Design
Astronomy
Business Studies
Certificate in digital application (CEDA)
Child Development
Citizenship
Design and Technology (in most schools, student must choose one of the following subjects):
- Electronics
- Food Technology
- Graphics (sometimes called Graphic Products)
- Resistant Materials
- Systems and Control
- Product Design (AQA offers it only)
- Textiles
Drama
Engineering (Double Award)
French
Geography
German
History
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (often taken early)
Leisure and Tourism (Double Award)
Media Studies
Music
Philosophy and Ethics
Physical Education
Religious Studies
Social Science
Spanish
Statistics (often taken a year early)

Uncommon subjects

Additional Mathematics - offered by CCEA in Northern Ireland and is pitched between GCSE and AS-level
Dance
Economics
Expressive Arts
Geology
Health and Social Care (Double Award)
Humanities
Irish - almost exclusively offered by Catholic schools in Northern Ireland
Italian
Latin
Welsh
Welsh (Second Language)

Rare subjects

Applied Art and Design (Double Award)
Applied Business (Double Award)
Arabic
Archaeology
Biblical Hebrew
Business and Communication Systems
Business Studies and Economics
Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese)
Classical Greek
Classical Civilisation
Dutch
Gujarati
Japanese
Jewish Studies
Law
Manufacturing (Double Award)
Modern Greek
Moving Arts
Persian
Photography
Psychology
Rural Science
Russian
Sociology
Urdu

External links

The Guardian, 25 August 2005, "It really is that bad" - GCSE standards
The Guardian, 3 September 2005, independent school to ditch GCSE science"
A-level & GCSE Grades Analyser Website

Revision

Although there are many different revision websites covering different exam board syllabuses and subjects at various skill levels, below are some of the more popular websites used by schools for student revision.

Exam boards

UK government education bodies

School qualifications | Standardized tests | Educational qualifications in the United Kingdom | School examinations