Re: [RSGB] Deadline for exam applications for the current syllabus

[Brian Reay]

Sounds right. There were various trials of new schemes prior to the new GCSEs.

As I mentioned, the GCSEs replaced both the O levels and CSEs so the grading needing to allow for that. I?m sure there was a lot of ?debate? at the time, there always is, but I don?t recall it specifically.

Whether one exam is better is a matter of opinion. Employers at the time were faced with candidates holding CSEs and O levels. Grade 1 CSEs were designated to be equivalent to an O level. Some people may well have ?double counted? if they had a CSE 1 and an O level in the same subject. I certainly suspected it on some CVs I saw in my engineering days.

Equally, the new system has higher, intermediate, and foundation papers in, say, Mathematics so is a C always the same? In theory the candidates answered some of the same questions but some in practice, one doing the higher paper could have got his marks by answering only difficult questions and skipped the easier ones.

The bottom line is, no exam system is perfect. I?m not against exams etc, far from it. Then, I always got excellent results from my classes. ;-)

[Brian Reay]

You obviously aren?t following the current state of the Scottish system.

[Stephen Cole]

It?s all in the archives, Jim. Thanks, Jim.

[Stephen Cole]

Brian does have a tendency to forget what he?s posted over the years, Jim. It?s all in the archives, though, Jim. Thanks, Jim.

[charles]

I suspect that Brian is about my age. Having a degree qualified you as a teacher in those days. SWMBO was a teacher for 40 years on that basis.

[Stephen Cole]

It?s all in the archives, Jim. Thanks, Jim.

[Stephen Cole]

He has a selective memory, unfortunately, Jim. It?s all in the archives, though, Jim. Thanks, Jim.

[Stephen Cole]

Brian wasn?t a teacher in ?those days?. He only briefly took it up when his engineering career abruptly ended a decade or so ago. HTH.

[Brian Reay]

I qualified in 2003/4 , a second career. I actually have two degrees, plus my teaching qualification of course. I retired in 2014 (early).

Steve is repeating some lies made up by some stalkers to try and divert attention from his own exam paper nonsense.

[Stephen Cole]

It?s all in the archives, Brian. Thanks, Brian.

[Stephen Cole]

You?re still trying to worm your way into the Freemasons, then, Jim? Thanks, Jim.

[Stephen Cole]

It?s all in the archives, Jim. Thanks, Jim.

[Spike]

I can see that as a results of the multiple burns that Stephen Thomas Cole CB/M0TEY has received in this thread from Brian Reay ex-M3OSN, the former's imaginary friend ('Burt') is going to get a pasting.

[Roger Hayter]

It wasn't a fiddle; before the rise of education as an academic discipline it was considered that the only qualification for teaching was to know something about the subject you were teaching. Teacher training (note use of the word training) was considered a lower qualification than a degree, so obviously if you had a degree you didn't need teacher training because you already knew your subject. It as only later that education about educational methods was considered important. Now, even in professional fields such as medicine, the education mafia will try to stop you teaching anyone until you have some sort of primarily educational qualification. I am not saying it is a bad thing, but it is a real change.

[Brian Reay]

Indeed.

Just around the time I qualified, it was announced that only qualified teachers would be allowed in state schools.

The rule was applied for a few years. I can?t recall the exact dates- it must have been mid 2000?s

Then it was removed, by the Tories, removal was a stupid idea in my view.

Private schools could always use unqualified teachers.

It wasn?t uncommon for those who, having achieved QTS ( the actual teaching qualification- not a PGCE as many think, a PGCE is just one route to QTS, there are / were others, including BEd, GTP, for example) failed to complete their NQT year successfully. They wouldn?t be allowed to teach in a state school, even as unqualified teachers, but they could still teach in a private school. AFAIK, this is still the case.

You still have to achieve QTS by a recognised route and your NQT year for be fully qualified. One of my son in laws is just starting his NQT year.

You can?t even start training without a good degree. I?m not sure when that requirement came in, before I qualified certainly.

There are various schemes to, for example, ?convert? overseas trained teachers. We had a very good Australian teacher who had to go through a process, even though they had many years of experience etc. All a bit ?box ticking? in their case. I expect it is similar in medicine.

[Stephen Cole]

It?s all in the archives, Brian.