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A-level Subject Choices After GCSE, it is vital to make the right choice in choosing A-level subjects as it can make the difference between going to a top university or a not-so-reputable one. The top universities do discriminate and admission tutors at each department have their own preferences and prejudices!  I’d just like to provide a brief summary in terms of A-level options and also to refer you to other articles that I’ve written about this important subject matter in […]

Does University Prestige Matter? For many 18-year-olds, the one single event last week – the release of the A-level examination results  –  may well be the most important event in their lives, as it could shape their destination in life. This event is a result of thousands of mainly little events since perhaps the age of five. It is my view that the way you live today is a result of your beliefs and behaviours in the past – i.e. […]

GCSE Grading System Explained Some things in life never change as it has always been the case that society makes judgement about people’s intelligence based on how many subjects they do well in at the age of around 16. In the modern British education system, it is called GCSE but until the early to mid 1980s, it was called O levels. There are other variations, which I’ll speak about later in this article. The pass rate at GCSE has always […]

GCSE vs IGCSE for University Entrance: Recent articles have been published in various newspapers, including The Mail, Sunday Times and the Telegraph, alleging that public schools (the top fee-paying independent schools), are gaming the system by entering their students for IGCSEs instead of the new supposedly harder GCSEs. For most independent schools – especially the high performing ones, it does not make sense to say that they have stuck to IGCSEs to avoid the new, supposedly tougher GCSEs. There are […]

iGCSE vs GCSE 9-1- Are Private Schools gaming the system by opting for the easier IGCSEs? There has been a lot of controversy since the new, supposedly tougher, GCSEs were introduced. More recently, the debate has revolved around unfairness on the part of independent schools (fee paying private school), where the iGCSE is more popular than the new GCSE.  Many people have raised concerns that the independent schools are playing the system by entering their students for the IGCSE exams, […]

Year 11 GCSE Success Tips – key facts and helpful hints ­ Although Year 11 is the final year of GCSE, up to 60% of the GCSE material has already been covered in Year 10 or before. The content of the GCSE material covered in earlier years will not be examined in a formal external examination until the end of Year 11. However, the teachers will do regular internal tests throughout and these will be used to place your child […]

  A few thoughts about the parent’s role as the child prepares for examination     I’m writing to share one or two thoughts with you about your child’s education as I believe that you are one of those parents with high expectations for your offspring.   This particular message is not necessarily about the courses we offer or directly related to the message we sent to parents recently about revision for the summer examinations. This conversation is broader, and it’s really […]

Why GCSE Results Matter for University: Some things in life never change as it has always been the case that society makes judgement about people’s intelligence based on how many subjects they do well in at the age of 16. In the modern British education system, it is called GCSE but until the early to mid 1980s, it was called O levels. There are other variations, which I’ll speak about later in this article. The pass rate at GCSE has […]