Regarding the recent letters comparing the difficulty of GCSEs and IGCSEs, I believe facts are useful (28 August; 4 September). From my own perspective as a maths teacher of 22 years in both the independent sector and more recently the state sector, my experience is that the maths IGCSE requires less preparation.
It is true that difficulty levels are equivalent to ensure parity in academic progression. But using the example of the Pearson Edexcel exam board, the GCSE examination consists of three 80-mark papers, two of which are calculator papers and the other a non-calculator paper. However, for the IGCSE offering from Edexcel, candidates sit only two papers of 100 marks each, with the use of a calculator allowed in both. Both these aspects significantly reduce preparation time and the pressure and anxiety on students and teachers.
I cannot comment on other subjects, but I do believe that my years spent teaching IGCSE maths in the independent sector were more straightforward. The majority of state school students run out of steam on reaching their third maths exam, with the result often affecting their overall grade.
It is time for an audit of the number of exams sat by students across the two sectors. My son sat half a dozen more GCSE exams than his friend who attends an independent school, and has come out of it with no more GCSE certificates to his name.
Daniel Eglin
Malvern, Worcestershire
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