UK Examination System followed by Mougins School

There are three types of examination in the UK system. You will hear one or all of these terms on a regular basis if you have a student in Form 9 or above. They are:-

(I)GCSE - (International) General Certificate of Secondary Education.

There are two versions - national and international, published by different examination boards. For Mougins School, they are Cambridge and London University Examination Boards. The two exams have equal value. Students generally sit between 8 and 10 (I)GCSE's having followed different subject courses for two years. These exams are sat in May/Junde at School, at the end of Form 11. All International and UK schools taking these examinations send their papers to the examination boards in the UK for marking. The results are published in the third week of August. Students make their subjects options just before Easter in Year 9.

These examinations are graded on a descending scale - A*, A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Students can leave School with (I)GCSE's (provided they are 16 years old) if they do not wish to continue to study until 18 years old, or wish to train with a particular company or organisation that recruits at 16 years old. These organisations will typically require 5 (I)GCSE's with grade C or above in each (Maths and English usually compulsory).

Virtually all students at Mougins School continue their studies to the level above. To move into Form 12, students must have Grade C or above in at least 5 subjects. They must also have Grade C or above in the subjects they wish to continue. The reason for both these requirements (set by most schools following the UK curriculum) is to ensure the student has the capacity to face the demands of the more demanding courses in Form 12. It is possbile to re-sit (I)GCSE's.

AS Level - Advanced Subsidiary Level.

Since September 2000, the examination programme has altered considerably. Students, who meet the requirements above, now generally select 5 subjects (4 in the UK) to follow for one year. In June, Form 12 sits these examinations under the same conditions as the (I)GCSE's. The AS level exams are graded A,B, C, D, E, N, U. The first five grades are passes, N is a "near miss" and U is unclassified.

A Level - Advanced Level.

In their last year - Form 13 - students selct 3/4 of the subjects they have studied to AS-Level to continue to Advanced Level. The exams are sat in June and have the same grading system as AS-Levels. Results for both AS and A-Levels arrive in mid-August. AS and A-Levels may be re-taken once.