GCSEs are supposedly fairer than the old O Levels and CSEs that came before them which were predominately exams with a teeny part of very few of them being course work. So I have to say I personally think what is in place now appears to be better than what used to around.
I did not work hard at school, to be honest I bunked off for most of year eight to year ten and by the time I had realised I wanted to pass some exams it was too late. I passed my CSEs but some only just. My maths and english were very poor and grade 4s which is like about a grade E GCSE. Eight years ago I decided to re-take both english and maths GCSE as I wanted to prove something to myself. We are not all capable at school and some of us develop later in life and maybe InTheFade you are the same?
When I re-took my maths I got a B and in my english I surpassed myself and got an A!!! I've told both of my children they have to beat me now which is our joke because they have two scores to choose from.
The school my daughter was at was specialized in vocational courses as well as performing arts and maths and computing! Too many subjects (which is why she's not there). But maybe it is not such a bad thing to have different sorts of education for different pupils? We all learn in differing ways and some of us are not academic. The government is pushing specialist schools and that is great however I wish the government would stop for five minutes and allow the teachers to teach and give them a break. The pupils need a break from all of these initiatives too - There are too many and that could be why some pupils are failing to make the grade.