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The General Certificate of Secondary Education ('''GCSE''') ( qualifications, usually taken by Secondary School students at age 14–16 in England , Wales and Northern Ireland . In Scotland and the GCSEs are not used, with Scotland opting for the Standard Grade and the Scottish Qualifications Certificate . Some private schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are now moving away from the GCSE system, instead opting for the coursework-free IGCSE system. STRUCTURE GCSE examinations are taken in a variety of subjects, which are usually decided by the student themselves between the ages of 13 and 14 (in Year 9). Several subjects are, however, mandatory and must be taken by all students, regardless of ability. Therefore, all candidates take English , Mathematics and a Science course. In addition, many schools also require that students take English Literature , at least one Modern Foreign Language, at least one Technology subject, Religious Education (often a short (half) course) and ICT (though increasingly this is the DiDA , rather than the GCSE). Students can then fill the remainder of their timetable (normally roughly nine different subjects) with their own choice of subjects (see the list below). There is also a requirement that all students study some form of RE, ICT, Citizenship, PE and, in Wales, Welsh, during Key Stage 4 (the GCSE years of school), though these do not have to be for GCSE or any other qualification.
Some subjects, such as Science, can be split up into several different subjects: it is possible to be examined on Science as a whole, with one or more often two GCSEs (typically known as Double Science), or with Biology , Chemistry and Physics separately (where 3 GCSEs are awarded, and typically known as Triple Science). The Triple Science program typically involves coursework-style examinations throughout the 14-15 age group, whereas Double Science typically has standard 'modular' examinations, with both types able to be retaken later on. There are now five Exam Board s offering GCSEs, AQA , Edexcel , OCR the WJEC and the CCEA ; while all boards are under the control of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) who deal with examination conduct and legislation, the boards are self-sufficient not-for-profit organisations. Traditionally, there were a smaller number of regional exam boards, but changes in legislation allowed schools to use any board before a series of mergers reduced the number to five. Some Examining Boards offer a " Modular " structure for some subjects, alongside the more traditional "linear" structure. In a modular structure, one or more modular examinations which focus on a sub-set of the syllabus are taken at intermediate stages of the course. Modular examinations may be re-taken to attempt to improve results. In addition to modular examinations, a modular structure may also include final or terminal examinations which examine the whole syllabus. In most subjects, one or more Coursework assignments may also be completed. Coursework typically contributes to 20-40% of the final GCSE grade in most subjects, but this varies a lot. In subjects such as Design And Technology , Information And Communication Technology , Art, Music Studies and Architecture, the proportion of the total mark relying on coursework is 60%. GCSE Music coursework accounts for 60% of the final grade, but in Mathematics or Science, it only accounts for 20%. In ICT, for example, coursework is known to take up very comfortably over 200 hours per student during the two year course, although the media scarcely comments on this. This is due to the more practical nature of the qualification. HISTORY GCSEs were introduced for teaching in September 1986 , and replaced both the O-level GCE (Ordinary level General Certificate Of Education ) and the CSE ( Certificate Of Secondary Education ) qualifications, which suffered problems due to the two-tieredness of the system. Grade C of the GCSE was set at the level where the O Level and CSE overlapped (making grades A-C equivalent to the respective O-level pass grades and grade 1 CSE, while grades D-G are equivalent to CSE grades 2-5 respectively). Some commentators feel that the GCSE system is a Dumbing Down from the old GCE / O-level system (as it took the focus away from the theoretical side of many subjects and taught students about real-world implications and issues relating to ICT and Citizenship ), joking that it stands for General Certificate for Sitting an Exam. Some Public Schools (private schools), have even gone as far as removing GCSEs from their curricula and instead encourage their pupils to progress straight to A-level or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme studies. On the other hand, it could be said to be better because it takes into account the ability of the student in the duration of the course, through coursework. However, some private schools are replacing the GCSEs with IGCSE s whereby there is an option to do no coursework, as schools see it as an opportunity to cheat. Introduced in 2000 was the Vocational GCSE, which encouraged students to take the work-related route and included courses such as engineering, applied business, ICT and leisure and tourism. From September 2004 , the word ''Vocational'' was dropped and a Vocational GCSE is now known simply as a GCSE. This is to show that the vocational side is "on par" with the traditional academic side. LIST OF GCSE SUBJECTS Note: Not all schools offer many of the subjects in this list. Also note that subjects that are extremely rare, such as minor languages or subjects taught by only one or two schools, are not listed below. Mandatory subjects
Common subjects
Uncommon subjects
Rare subjects
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
Revision Although there are many different revision websites covering different exam board syllabuses and subjects at various skill levels, below are some of the more popular websites used by schools for student revision. Exam boards
UK government education bodies
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