GCSEs in England to be replaced with English Bac in 2015; single exam board, single exam; school lea - Polidicks

[QUOTE=AngryChairR;37699800]Sixth form at the moment is for people who are insecure about leaving school and if you look at them next to college students they're quite immature and annoying[/QUOTE] Or for people for whom going to sixth form is much more convenient or the only option all together...

[QUOTE=RobbL;37701467]Or for people for whom going to sixth form is much more convenient or the only option all together...[/QUOTE] The college people from where I am just sit about and smoke weed and stuff, they're looked down on way more than people who go to sixth form.

Oh dear, I never would have passed one of those Bac things. I got a U in GCSE geography. :v: I think the leaving age should be 16, however you don't get unemployment benefits until you are 18. That way, the kids who really don't want to be at school don't have to shit it up for the other ones, yet they don't get their laziness paid for by the state, they either have to find a job or be in education.

[url=http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-on-politics/english-baccalaureate-first-exam-paper-published/20607]According to Channel 4[/url] the single 3 hour exam may not be in all courses, and there may be alternative measures for people who can't learn that way [quote]3. Is continuous assessment banished for all time from all 14-16 education? (Your answer should refer to relevant government documents and articles from the Mail newspaper group) It appears not. The coalition accepts that certain subjects might require assessment outside a three hour exam after two years – design and technology and art, but others too. The department is also saying that if exam boards come back insisting that continuous assessment can play a part in exams the government will listen. Some of Michael Gove’s pet foreign systems run continuous assessment. But his instincts are profoundly hostile. This is one to watch. The government also acknowledges that for a proportion of the 20 per cent or so of the school population that struggles with GCSE/O-level standard English and maths, there need to be other arrangements and these could include a series of continuous assessments or, as Michael Gove called it, “enhanced provision of detailed records of achievement in each curriculum”.[/quote] If they get rid of the 3 hour exam this might be a decent set of reforms imo

[QUOTE=person11;37700126]short version: [B]kilometers[/B] better than the American System[/QUOTE] ftfy

[QUOTE=Gubbinz96;37701408]Well that's good, though the whole leaving age being raised doesn't particularly sit well with me. At 16 I was literally feverish to get away from that school. Another two years would have been [i]cruel.[/i][/QUOTE] Just another day in the life of an American student. You'da been fine.

[QUOTE=AngryChairR;37699800]They shouldn't force them to stay at school until they're 18. Sixth form at the moment is for people who are insecure about leaving school and if you look at them next to college students they're quite immature and annoying. They should be out of the school environment where they call their teachers 'Sir', go to assemblies and get moaned at. College gives them responsibility and the more adult environment is much better for 16-19 year-olds.[/QUOTE] This is along the lines of what I have said for a while, but not for EVERYBODY that goes to Sixth Form. I think a lot of people stay on just because they are scared to leave school, and it isnt helped by the fact that in a lot of places they are still treat like a schoolkid. I did a year of Sixth Form and absolutely hated it, dropped out and went to college and there was a world of difference in the way you are treated and the way you manage your work.

So now my 11 GCSEs are going to become second rate qualifications, great. Atleast IT is still Btec so that counts for something.

This all seems good to me apart from the 3 hour exams, I did 7 GCSE's, got 3 B's and 4 C's with absolutely 0 effort whatsoever (could have easily gotten all A's, but it doesn't mean shit, so who cares). I then did a BTEC and A level computing. A levels were 5x harder, I actually had to put effort in, they need to make it harder for children to get qualifications instead of just looking at the numbers and how much money they (the exam boards) make. A single 3 hour exam is absolutely retarded beyond all measure, at uni my longest exam has been 2 and a half hours and the last hour I was sitting there doing nothing, I can't imagine how kids would feel. Also, everyone knows exams really are not a show of knowledge, and more a show of "CRAM REVISE 2 HOURS BEFORE THE EXAM" because it doesn't matter if you forget everything after it. Coursework is a much better indicator imo. Although I do have to agree having the compulsory age at 16 meant that college (or sixth form) was a much nicer place as the "scrotes" as that other guy put it, had fucked off to work in mcdonalds by then.

[QUOTE=Jackald;37710142]One of the good things about 6th form was that all of the cunts who just dicked about and had no interest in being there had moved on. This will negatively impact the education of those who genuinely want to stay in education.[/QUOTE] Most places in the country will have Vocational and Academic colleges, so you'll have the people who don't care going to the Vocational colleges and the people who do care going to the Academic colleges.

Lol @ everyone saying that anyone who doesn't care will do a vocational course. Nice way to try and insult people like me who have done them. There will still be people who don't care doing academic courses too.

You know, I'm starting to think it would probably be better if results were based on coursework and the student's attitude towards the subject itself. Better teachers are a must too; if you can't teach, it doesn't matter how smart you are. So many of my teachers seem to think that drilling stuff into our heads will somehow make us intelligent; all it does is put a memory in our brain until we can flush it out after the exam. And this is from a student who actually likes/liked school. [editline]18th September 2012[/editline] Apart from that, we should make the courses more challenging, but make sure to reward people for getting a C. A lot of the kids in my school seem to think that if you get a C, you may as well get an F, and an A is passable. The pressure they put on us is ridiculous.