This acronym makes U.K. high school students and their parents’ cringe!
During the past year, our lives revolved around something called the GCSEs. This dreaded acronym is the scourge of every year 11 student in England. Year 11 is the equivalent of U.S. sophomore, because in the UK (and the rest of the developed world) kindergarten is considered so important that it’s considered to be “Year 1”.
At the beginning of Year 10 (freshman year), students choose a set of courses they will study for the next 2 years. Math, English Language, English Literature, a choice of three sciences are mandatory. Students choose a set of humanities and general electives as well. Electives offering vary by school. Dennis chose Biology, Chemistry and Physics for his sciences and Computer Science, History, Food Technology and Religious Studies for his humanities and electives. Each subject culminates in two separate multi-hour written exams. Exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 9. Each student gets a personalized target score for each subject established by their teacher.
At the end of year 11, students (and families) decide if they will continue to Sixth Forum (Junior and Senior year) as preparation for a university or pursue vocational options (more about that in another post). For those two final years, students chose just three subjects to take. Each of the subjects offered by a school will have a minimum GCSE score requirement. Dennis wants to take Computer Science, Math and Chemistry in Sixth Forum. (Dave will oversee that homework…)
This set of exams make the SAT’s look like a bloody cake walk. A student’s GCSE scores determine which subjects they will be allowed to study in Sixth Forum or vocational colleges. The scores will also required in the university admissions process.
All of the exams are administered in exam halls with invigilators and very strict rules. There are multiple rounds of mock exams to help prepare students for this arduous process. The stress created by this process is extraordinary. Some of the exams are only an hour and a half, others are up to two and a half hours. The national exam boards work together to set a nationwide schedule for the exams. This means that every student in England takes the same exams at the same time. This prevents any exam questions from being leaked.
Dennis’ first exam was on the 9th of May, his final one will be on June 19th with a total of 20 exams. He only has to go to school when he has exams, and the schedule is set so that there are only two exams given each day. He had one brutal week with six exams: one on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday and one on Friday. The poor dude was so brain dead but Friday evening, he didn’t know which way was up. I picked him up on Friday and on the way home asked if he wanted to stop for a snack. My gorgeous 6 foot 3-inch-tall son let out the most toddler like response by howling “I’m not hungry and I don’t know what day it is!”
As a parent, it is so hard to watch your child under so much pressure and know there is absolutely nothing you can do beyond moral support, endless hugs, clean clothes, and in our case, gargantuan amounts of food.
He’s over halfway through, so he’s feeling a bit better about life. We keep reminding him that he needs to study hard and do his best. He has two more exams left this week, two next week and one the week after. I had better make another grocery store run today!
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