Why schools are turning their back on GCSEs

A clear majority of independent schools offers pupils at least one International GCSE (IGCSE), a fact that confirms the growing distinction between the independent and maintained school sectors.

For the past three years, the City of London School has adopted IGCSEs instead of GCSEs across six core subjects. From September we will add a further five. The reason for this is, essentially, the greater rigour of the IGCSE, a qualification originally intended for teaching overseas.

GCSEs are characterised by coursework, a series of assignments which independently minded pupils often find dull. Taught in - and in future to be examined in - "bite-size chunks", GCSE modules lack interest in their repetitiveness. Their assessment against a formulaic list of criteria demonstrates a pupil's work "recording" and little else.

The coursework system also reduces teaching contact time so pupils emerge less well taught than in IGCSE, for which greater teaching time is expended. IGCSE pupils emerge knowing more, with a traditional exam at the end.

The chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (of 250 leading independent schools), Andrew Grant, has noted the inconsistency of the GCSE exams.

This patchy pattern, in combination with the future introduction of modular exams in which pupils can repeat assessments up to three times, are arguably symptoms of "dumbing down". So too is the substitution of the rigorous examination of knowledge and understanding, with the discursive. Thus the question in GCSE chemistry, "is adding chlorine to the water in a swimming pool a good thing?" concerns academic chemists.

The academic rigour required by Britain's top universities will not be best developed from the academic base which GCSEs now represent.

The flight to IGCSE will grow among schools able to make the choice.

David Levin is chairman-elect of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and headmaster of City of London School.