TEENAGERS will no longer be required to sit all their GCSEs after two years of study, under radical plans to break courses into "bite sized" modules.

The proposals from the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority would see GCSEs brought into closer alignment with A-levels, which have been modular since 2000.

Pupils would be able to complete up to half of their GCSEs before the end of their courses, and they could re-sit individual modules or "unit" exams to get better grades.

The proposals emerged as about 630,000 pupils wait to receive their GCSE results this week.

Alan Smithers, Professor of Education at the University of Buckingham, urged caution over moves to break GCSEs into "bite sized" units.

"The breaking up of the course can mean that pupils may not have an integrated understanding of the subject," he said.

"Modularising the GCSE is likely to increase overall results.

"This is partly because it will be easier for the individuals to perform at a higher level through the restructuring of the exam."

But there will also be people who choose to re-sit their units "to maximise their score".

"This is something that the pupils themselves see as unfair. The re-taking of units - even once - introduces an element of unfairness."

Consultation

A QCA consultation paper on the proposed reforms to GCSEs said: "Unitisation in GCSEs can enhance flexibility and choice."

Currently, most GCSEs are assessed through external exams taking place after two years of study.

The reforms, which would come into force in 2009, would not necessarily apply across all GCSE subjects, or to all exam boards.

But it is likely that many courses will be modular in structure once the plans are finalised.

The QCA's proposals suggested that pupils would be able to re-sit a GCSE module once, rather than repeatedly.

One exam board has already introduced a modular English GCSE.

But a review by the QCA criticised the modular structure of this course because it "allowed candidates to take units several times, with the best mark counting".

Critics have claimed that the 2000 reforms which divided A-levels into units, with the option of repeated re-sits, made the exams easier to pass.

The first year of results under the new A-level system in 2002 saw the pass rate leap from 89.8% to 94.3%, with a similar rise in the proportion of A grades.

The A-level reforms sparked a major grading crisis across the country which led to thousands of papers being re-marked.

The QCA's latest plans prompted fears that GCSEs would be similarly affected, leading more top schools to abandon the exams in favour of tougher alternatives.

One such rival qualification is the International GCSE (IGCSE) which has been likened to traditional O-levels.

Geoff Lucas, secretary of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference of elite independent schools, said modular A-levels had "undoubtedly made it much easier for students to reach the standard".

"I think the experience from A-levels ought to be heeded very carefully," he said.

"It could well act as a further incentive for more independent schools to take up the IGCSE."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the plan to make GCSEs modular.

He suggested this would not make it easier to get an A.

Dr Dunford said: "It may well make GCSEs more accessible to more pupils. That would be good.

"But it would not necessarily make the top end easier."

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