apparently a lot of private schools are giving up GCSEs in favour of something called the IGCSE which is a bit more challenging. I like this quote:

"The entire GCSE syllabus is rather like getting able students through a combination of dressage and a low hurdle race. You have to explain to them how they put their feet very carefully over low hurdles so they will not irritate the examiner. It's not challenging at all"

and this one:

"The new GCSEs are appalling for the most able students. They are simply pap, they are baby food, they are examination rusks in too many subjects, and they do not stretch and challenge the most able"

This doesn't surprise me at all. I did some subjects at 'O' Level which were pretty hard, having to memorise long formulae etc, and some others were 16+ or GCSE exams and those were so utterly childish and rudimentary it was almost laughable and I was annoyed at all the unnecessary preparation I'd made for them. Every year when the exam results come out the government tells us how well everyone has done and how standards are getting higher and higher, but it's clear to me that despite all their protestations to the contrary, they just lower the bar a little more every year. It's hard to imagine how GCSE students are going to manage 'A' levels and degrees - though they could be getting easier too, who knows. I suspect 'A' levels are considering how nearly everyone gets A grades these days and the universities can no longer tell the gifted students from the less gifted...