ONE of Manchester's top independent schools has dumped GCSE maths, fuelling claims that the qualification is too easy.

Last year 89 per cent of pupils at Manchester Grammar School achieved grade A or A* in the maths GCSE.

Next year students will instead sit the international GCSE - taken by students overseas - because staff claim it prepares them better for A levels with its wider curriculum and lack of coursework.

The move has re-ignited claims that the traditional GCSE has been "dumbed down," lacking the academic rigour of O levels.

A number of other independent schools are said to be moving over to the iGCSE qualification or considering it for future years.

Ruth Lea, director of the think-tank Centre for Policy Studies, said: "GCSE is nothing like the standard of O level. I'm not surprised they are turning their backs on the GCSE because it's easy." MGS highmaster Christopher Ray believes the alternative qualification is a better preparation for A level, including elements - such as calculus - that don't appear in the traditional GCSE.

Because the qualification is assessed through examination, students no longer have to complete coursework, which he says bright young mathematicians often found tedious.

Challenge

Dr Ray, who stops short of saying either qualification is better or worse than the other, said: "I would say most schools who are thinking about iGCSEs are prompted by a desire to do a coursework-free option We wanted the coursework-free option because the coursework that's demanded for GCSE maths is very routine and very undemanding. When you are dealing with able young men, as we are, you want something that will challenge them.

"The maths includes some calculus which the current GCSE doesn't - so it might be thought to be a little harder but I would simply say that that it is different and that it helps to prepare students better for the A level programme."

Dr Ray stresses that he is not seeking to eradicate coursework from the school completely and that in some subjects it has a crucial role. He said: "I'm not saying that all coursework is bad and I think coursework for some subjects and some children is terrific.

The coursework that the boys appear to enjoy is in geography and history, where there are more demands made and more interesting coursework can be produced. There are also subjects like art that are coursework-based and because of the character of the subject it can be challenging.

"It is clear that while GCSE is appropriate for very many children, some GCSEs do not appear to be appropriate for the most able."

Although the iGCSE is recognised by universities, the Department for Education does not include it in its league tables or fund it in State schools.

That means that moving towards the iGCSE could impact on the MGS national ranking, but Dr Ray stresses that this is not a major concern to the school. He says they are considering a move to iGCSEs in some other subjects.

Edexcel - one of the bodies that offers the iGCSE - says it is surprised by the level of interest in the qualification from schools in England because it is only marketed overseas.

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