[Archived] Random Question About Gcse's

[Eddie]

OK, so been having a bit of a discussion with someone today on the back of GCSE results and seeing that someone got 17 A stars. Basically the question is did this person take the exams over two years, or sit 17 in one whack? Also, if you do take them over two years, will you get a diploma at the end showing all of your GCSE's in one go or do you get one for every year in which you sit GCSE exams?

I know this won't be particularly interesting, but just couldn't find the answer to it anywhere and thought that one of the teachers, students, parents of students or something might know the answer to this.

[LeftWinger]

I know this won't be particularly interesting

You got that bit right

Just kidding Eddie! I know my brother did took them over 2 years - not quite sure what you mean about the diploma. He just has a list of GCSE's and Grades he got - doesn't matter if they were taken last year or this year - they all count as individual grades if that makes sense.

[Eddie]

OK, I was just wondering when you see these kids holding up papers with a list of 17 GCSE's if that means they took them all in the same year, or if they'd get that sort of thing for the two years that they had taken?

[LeftWinger]

OK, I was just wondering when you see these kids holding up papers with a list of 17 GCSE's if that means they took them all in the same year, or if they'd get that sort of thing for the two years that they had taken?

When they are modular you can do the exams/coursework over two years I think. So in theory you could do 17 half GCSE's in the first year and then finish them off in the second year. I'd guess that doing 17 though, you've probably got quite a few finished altogether in the first year though. I may be wrong.

[Hughesy]

could have sat some the year before or earlier, or could have sat them all that year.....depends on the kid

[dixonbrfc]

saw a kid on the news this morning who took a gcse in maths at the age of 9 and got an A*!!! i just got a B at 16! as for your question hughsey, some schools offer BTEC's which is equivelent to 4 gcse's but there is no exam at the end! so maybe the person did extra gcse's and one of them, aswell as the usually maths, english science etc...

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Could be a few things. He/She could have been holding up merely the module results (not sure how they do it with the new syllabus), it could have been a BTEC, some subjects could have been taken in year 10 rather than year 11 or they could just have tried to do 17 straight off, although I think private tuition would probably have been needed for that because there aren't enough blocks in a school week to fit in sufficient lessons to pass 17.

GCSEs are a bit of a joke though. Don't get me wrong, well done to those who passed recently (I only did mine 2 years ago), but as soon as you enrol at college they are never heard of again.

And just for self indulgence purposes, I passed my A Levels last week and so I'm off to university next month. Getting to matches became a bit harder.

[American Rover12]

And just for self indulgence purposes, I passed my A Levels last week and so I'm off to university next month.

Congrats!

[thenodrog]

All I can say is that the speed at which evolution is occurring with each years kids brighter than the last ones is absolutely astounding. Charles Darwin must not have got any GCSE's, in fact he must have been really thick to have come up with those theories about natural selection slowly affecting different generations. Now we are seeing an annual rolling increase in average IQ to hitherto unattainable levels! One cannot fail to be impressed.

btw......Do employers still take note of GCSE's and if so why?

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

I understand your cynicism and I share it to an extent. But having just completed my A Levels and GCSEs I know why the grades keep rising. It isn't because the exams are getting easier, but it's because of the way students are being taught. In the past kids were taught the methods and topics as a whole. Nowadays schools just teach kids what to write and what the examiner is looking for rather than explain what it actually means. Students are being taught what to say to pass exams, not being taught the subject itself. As the years go by, teachers know what is coming up on the exams (I knew what topics would come up before I even sat my exams in most cases) and so can prepare students by telling them how to answer common questions.

And before you make flippant remark or quip, it isn't like we (classing myself as a student here) have much of a say in the matter. On the contrary, I was irritated more than anything about being told what to write but never being told what it actually meant in proper context.

[OhmiBRFC]

When I did mine at 16, I had been building up for them for two years. This year, I am now resitting them and I have circa nine months to get ready