Alternative to GCSE

Magnus Bashaarat is quoted in an article in The Telegraph on a fall in the number of GCSEs taken by pupils attending independent schools.

The article reports on new data published by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), showing that the average number of GCSEs taken has fallen from 9.7 a decade ago to 9.4 today. ISC Chairman Barnaby Lenon observes that schools have become more confident in offering things that are of great educational value but not part of a formal public exam – such as sport, art, music, drama and community service.

Students at Bedales only sit GCSEs in five core subjects, with the remainder made up of the school’s own BACs (Bedales Assessed Courses) – first introduced in 2006, and with recent additions including Global Awareness, Sports Science and Digital Game Design. Magnus Bashaarat comments:  “We had the guts to say we don’t think GCSEs are the future. We went it alone. But more and more schools are asking those questions.”

The full article can be read on the Telegraph website here (subscription may be required).