What on the Earth are IGCSE, IB, Sixth Forms and A Levels?
Posted by gelooooooooooooooooo@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 44 comments
Non-Brit here of course, I find them very hard to understand. I guess they’re just a bunch of curriculums right?
Chance-Presence5941@reddit
GCSE's are Secondary Level qualifications, Sixth Form the school you go to between Secondary and University, you take A levels at a Sicth form college. This honestly should have been a google search.
Saathael95@reddit
GCSE’s - General certificate of secondary education - qualifications taken at age 16
IB - International baccalaureate, taken instead of A-Levels, considered harder on average due to studying 6 subjects instead of three.
Sixth Form - and old term relating to the year groups of a secondary school (6th year from starting at the school) basically 16-18 education normally involving either A-levels, B-techs, IB, it used to be optional to leave school at 16 but I believe you either have to do sixth form, college, or an apprenticeship (which includes college work).
A-Levels - typically 3 subjects studied between 16-18.
Cuznatch@reddit
Just to add, IGCSEs are international GCSEs, offered at some international schools, but yeah.
london_smog_latte@reddit
IGCSE are also offered at private schools in the UK as well and are typically harder than regular GCSE’s. (At my school we did IGCSE and the GCSE’s were offered to the bottom sets)
Rowly1100@reddit
IGCSEs are not harder than GCSE. Source: my Head of English at an independent secondary wife. She offers it to kids who won't pass the GCSE.
Crouching-Cyka@reddit
You’re right. IGCSEs are actually a fair amount easier than GCSEs.
Gauntlets28@reddit
They made us do language IGCSEs at my school, and we were so pissed off at the time, because we realised that most employers don't even recognise the distinction. Essentially all we got was a GCSE that was harder than it was for everyone else, for no real reason at all.
TouristParticular219@reddit
Sixth forms are what you can do after secondry school or high school (up to 16yrs old) to get A levels which are grades that let you pick what university you can go to. GCSEs are basic exams at the end of secondry school and I dont know what IBs are
nasted@reddit
GCSEs and A-Levels are types of qualifications with A-Level being a higher level.
There used to be O-levels and A-levels but the O-levels were replaced with GCSEs in the late 80s. This is why the two qualifications names seem so different.
Typically GCSEs are studied in English schools between 14-16yo, and A-levels between 16-18yo. But anyone can take a GCSE or A-level whenever they want through further education, night classes etc
Education is only compulsory up to 16 years.
Sixth form, sometimes called sixth form college, refers to people aged 16-18 who are in full time education that isn’t a university degree. This is where most people would do their A-Levels but other qualifications can be studied (such as NVQs)
iGCSEs are the equivalent of GCSEs. The i is for international but anyone can study them.
iGCSEs are also popular in the UK home education community as they have less coursework or practical components making them easier to study at home.
IB? No idea! lol!
Why_Teach@reddit
IB is probably International Baccalaureate. You can be in IB programs in Europe and also the US.
nasted@reddit
Tell the OP not me.
ARedditAccount003@reddit
woah where did that come from?
nasted@reddit
Because I thought you replied to me when you meant to reply to the OP?
ARedditAccount003@reddit
You said you don't know what IB means and that kind gentle user, who has taken time out of their day and exerted energy to their fingertips, provided you some useful information and you just attacked them.
nasted@reddit
Wow - do you look for fights? I didn’t ask to know so assumed they replied to me by mistake because it’s the OP who is asking. Sheesh - what an overreaction.
ARedditAccount003@reddit
I agree, please consider working on yourself.
Why_Teach@reddit
Thanks for standing up for civility. I think it was just a misunderstanding.
Why_Teach@reddit
No, I was replying to you, since you said you didn’t know what IB was. No worries.
whizzdome@reddit
O-level and A-level stands for Ordinary (up to the age of about 16, and Advanced (at about 18).
Blackjack_Davy@reddit
O-levels don't exist anymore they were combined with the lower standard CSE to create GCSE's
whizzdome@reddit
Thanks, I know, I was explaining what the O and A did for, but you're right I didn't say that the O has been replaced.
fridge0852@reddit
Education is compulsory to 18 years nowadays
nasted@reddit
No it isn’t - training or education after 16.
Blackjack_Davy@reddit
You leave school at 16 here and take GCSE exams unless you opt to stay on for a further two years and take A-Level examinations they're considered a precursor for entry into University
BeegieBeeg@reddit
They're years or as Americans say, grades.
Gauntlets28@reddit
Not they're not. They're qualifications.
andyrocks@reddit
Brit here, I haven't a clue either.
gazelle82@reddit
I second this.
DazzlingClassic185@reddit
Sixth form is the sixth (and seventh) year of secondary school, forming the old way of enumerating school years between 11 and 16/18, and it kinda stuck, even though it is now numbered from the bottom, where 1 is now the year after reception class. Sixth form is when we study GCE A-Levels (general certificate of education, advanced level), from age 16-18. Not sure what an IGCSE is, but GCSE is general certificate of secondary education, taken in the fifth form, the last compulsory year of school (starts at rising 16). We have sixth forms in secondary schools in most regions of England and wales (can’t comment on Scotland, it’s a different system), but all regions have sixth form colleges.
Books_Bristol@reddit
iGCSE is an international GCSE. Cambridge examinations offer them in countries where English is a first or recognised national language, like India.
You didn't mention IB either, which is the international baccalaureate. Baccalaureate curriculum but accepted credits outside France/Francophones for those wanting to study degrees outside of the Francosphere.
MisterrTickle@reddit
The main problem with IB is that schools and universities take a very different view if what an IB is worth. When it comes to offering a place. I'm not sure what the ratio is now but it used to be that you needed 20% more to get a place than A levels. If you just converted tbe IB points into A level points at the "exchange rate" that schools say it should be.
DazzlingClassic185@reddit
I’d heard of the eGCSE, but that was an IT course, IIRC. It’s fair, I guess that I hadn’t heard of it, having been educated here, and not been an educator anywhere!
anonymouslyyoursxxx@reddit
IGCSE is just an international version of the same qualification. It is slightly closer to the old Ordinary (O) level of the past in that it has a greater focus on memory than skills - that is the official line. In reality ot isn't massively different from the GCSE but lacks a coursework element.
IAL are the A-Level equivalent.
BAC is based on the French Baccalaureate. It's similar to an American system where instead of 3 or 4 subjects studied discretely (as with A Levels or IALs) a broader curriculum is studied.
Dennyisthepisslord@reddit
Some of us went to school in a three tier system where sixth form was year 4 at a school! 🤷♂️
DazzlingClassic185@reddit
😂 that’s us, idiosyncratic to the end!
TSC-99@reddit
IGSCSE are certificates you get at the end of secondary education (at age 16). The I means international. In the uk they don’t have the I.
Sixth form is one version of a college where you’d go to after secondary school. Sixth forms are tagged onto secondary schools. But you can also go to separate further education colleges if your school doesn’t have a sixth form.
A Levels are one type of certificate you can study for after you’re 16. They ares significantly harder than GCSEs. But you can study more vocational courses instead of A levels if you want. A levels tend to be the regular subjects like maths, sciences, languages, humanities etc.
IB is international baccalaureate. I don’t really know what this is as we don’t have it in the uk. I think it’s the equivalent of a levels.
I used to work in an international school.
chocolate-and-rum@reddit
We absolutely do have the Ib in the UK though it's not offered in all 16+ education establishments. It's an alternative to A'levels where a student doesn't want to limit themselves to only 3 subjects. They cover 6 subjects that include maths, English, a science, a language, a humanities and an art (or free choice) subject. It is examined on a points system that can easily be equated to A'levels by universities.
Sweaty_Sheepherder27@reddit
Mostly this is the case, there are some Sixth Forms which are independent of secondary schools - I went to one.
2022Banana@reddit
“IGSCSE are certificates you get at the end of secondary education (at age 16). The I means international. In the uk they don’t have the I.”
We do have IGCSE in the UK. Both the Cambridge and Pearson exam boards have iGCSE. These can be taken internationally and in the UK. A lot of independent schools teach IGCSE rather than GCSE. Their certificates will state it was an IGCSE.
HungryFinding7089@reddit
GCSE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCSE
IGCSE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_General_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education
A Levels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-level
Scottish Standard Grade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Grade
Scottish Higher Grade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_(Scottish)#:~:text=Higher%20examinations%2C%20in%20common%20with,points%20towards%20the%20UCAS%20system.%20UCAS%20system.
International Baccalaureate https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/international/curricula-and-exams/the-international-baccalaureate-explained
PumpkinJambo@reddit
National 5s replaced Standard Grades in Scotland a few years ago: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/97077.html
luujs@reddit
IGCSEs are an international version of the British GCSEs which are less UK centred but still essentially the same qualification. GCSEs are the tests you need to pass when you’re 15/16. They’re the first proper qualification you need to get in the British education system and you need to take English, Maths and the Sciences (my school made us take all three sciences, but others let you pick one or two if you want). Students generally take eight subjects and they can choose the remaining ones.
A-Levels are traditionally the next stage and are non compulsory, although most British students take them or IB which is an alternative qualification you can take instead that has the same weight. You take these exams when you are 17/18 which is the last year of Sixth Form. Sixth Form is the last two years of school in the UK, which are Years 12 and 13 but are also called Lower and Upper Sixth.
The difference between A-Levels and IB is that A-Levels are much more focused. An A-Level student will generally pick three subjects to study and will spend their two years learning those. An IB student will do six subjects and as a result has a more general, but less specific education. IB students have to take an English, a foreign language, a humanities subject, a science and maths, while the other subject can be anything else. Most British students take A-Levels but IB’s growing.
Breakwaterbot@reddit
Your Google broke?
namtabmai@reddit
IGSCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_General_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education
IB
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Baccalaureate
Sixth Forms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_form
A Levels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-level