For those in the UK: Were you encouraged to leave school with only GCSE's?

by truthseeker 11 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  LittleToe

  VM44:
  As you rightly point out A-Levels stand for "Advanced Level", whereas O-Level stood for "Ordinary Level". Both of these grades were under the GCE system. Though GCE was usually synonymous with O-Levels, it has now been retained just for the A-Levels.
  There were also the AS-Levels (Advanced Subsidiary), but I don't know anyone who went for them, unless they were certain they were going to flunk the A-Level and wanted to fall back on having at least some grade..

  I think I got about four or five O-Levels under the GCE (General Certificate of Education) system.
  CSE's (Certificate of Secondary Education) was a lower grade still, of which I got a further three.
  They were replaced with the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) system.
  Confused? So were we!

  It mapped out like this:

  GCSE / GCE / CSE

  • A / A / ..
  • B / B / ..
  • C / C / 1
  • D / D / 2
  • E / E / 3
  • F / U / 4
  • G / .. / 5
  • U / .. / U

  Where "U" = Ungraded = Fail
• 

  Sirona

  Oh yes I was discouraged from further education!

  I got all A grades at school but was told by an elder that the book you study after the live forever book (was that called "worship" or something?) was all I needed to know (equivalent of A Levels? )

  Instead of doing A levels I did an NVQ and got an advanced diploma....but it was all pretty much skills based stuff. It was only when I was getting out of JWs that I got myself an A level and then went on to start the degree in psychology.

  So many ExJWs are studying in later life, I've noticed.

  Sirona