IGCSEs | Schools Week

Cambridge International cancels iGCSE exams and moves to teacher assessment

Cambridge International is moving to teacher assessment for its iGCSE qualifications in the UK, the exam board has announced. The board said it will switch to teacher assessment based on students’ work in a “very small” number of countries and regions – including the UK – where directives from authorities make it “impossible” for exams […]

OCR suffers 20% drop in awards as schools flee iGCSE

A major exam board has reported a huge slump in certifications as schools shun iGCSEs in favour of more traditional qualifications. According to Ofqual’s annual qualifications market report, OCR, the third-largest provider of GCSE and equivalent qualifications, awarded 21 per cent fewer certificates last year. Exam boards WJEC and Pearson also saw falls of 17 […]

iGCSE loophole allows schools to teach one religion

Increasing numbers of pupils are being entered for an international religious studies qualification which allows them to learn just one religion – in spite of government rules that require GCSEs always to include two religions. The reformed religious studies GCSE has been taught since 2016, and is required to include the systematic study of at […]

iGCSE results will not be published this year

iGCSE results data will not be published this year as it is fully removed from league tables and students are pushed back towards regular GCSE courses. Pupils are receiving their iGCSE results today, but the exam board has informed Schools Week that it will not be putting out pass rates or statistics for the course […]

IGCSE English results 2016: Pass rate increases in final year of league table inclusion

The pass rate for IGCSEs in English language has risen this year with more than 210,000 pupils sitting the exams in the final year before the qualification will be removed from league tables. Results released today by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) show that 64.6 per cent of pupils achieved at least a grade C, up from 63.2 […]

Government rapped over removal of IGCSEs from school league tables

The government has been rapped by the statistics watchdog for having a “gap in its coverage” of pupil attainment after removing IGCSE qualifications from school league tables, but has now pledged to make available a “wider range” of exam results. Simon Briscoe, a public policy statistician, wanted to obtain IGCSE data showing the performance and pathways of […]

GCSE marking concerns lead to schools spending thousands on external coursework re-graders

Schools have spent thousands of pounds hiring external moderators to reassess coursework grades amid concerns they have been wrongly marked down. Three schools in the north east of England called in the independent markers as they prepare to mount a challenge against iGCSE English language grades. None wanted to be named, but one school admitted […]