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Thread: GCSE`s what are they worth?

  1. #1
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    Default GCSE`s what are they worth?

    hi we are looking at moving over jan/fab 2012 but i am thinking i might stay behind with the children so my eldest can finish his gcses in the may/jun but will they be worth anything in nz.
    i have been looking at other post and seem to come accross mixed opinions, if he wont get any credits for his gcses then would it be better for him to go over and do the whole of year 11 in nz? i really dont know what is going to be the best option for him and any info would be great

  2. #2
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    Personally I think if you're committed to being in NZ then the longer he gets in the NZ school system, the better. If he comes for yr 11 he'll do NCEA1, which will better prepare him for NCEA2 than GCSEs will because they're quite different.

  3. #3
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    Do you know what school he would be attending? Some schools here offer the Cambridge IGSCE program in addition to New Zealand NCEA so he might be able to start at the beginning of the school year here in February in the Cambridge program.

  4. #4
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    I agree - get him into the NZ school programme as soon as you can, never mind which exams he's going to do once here.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by jbroughton View Post
    hi we are looking at moving over jan/fab 2012 but i am thinking i might stay behind with the children so my eldest can finish his gcses in the may/jun but will they be worth anything in nz.
    i have been looking at other post and seem to come accross mixed opinions, if he wont get any credits for his gcses then would it be better for him to go over and do the whole of year 11 in nz? i really dont know what is going to be the best option for him and any info would be great
    If the school follows the Cambridge system, GCSE`s will count.
    If they don't, then they don't.
    My daughter finished her GCSE`s just before we left and got her results sent over here.
    She did fantastically well, A* - B grades for everything.
    Unfortunately the school she was going to didnt follow the Cambridge system so they counted for diddley squat. She had to start from scratch, and do another year at school to get enough credits to go to tech.
    Very very upsetting and disheartening for her as she had done so well but nothing we could do about it unfortunately. She is doing well in Tech now and passing the exams that do count!

  6. #6
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    The more I think about it, the more I think I'd want my upcoming year 11 student here getting into the NZ NCEAs as soon as possible. It's not just a different exam for the subjects, it's a whole different way of teaching and assessing and s/he can only be advantaged by being here in the system as long as possible before taking NCEAs. As a previous poster mentioned, there is also an issue that some subjects at NCEA level 2 may have a pre-requisite of NCEA level 1.

    Some schools do offer IGCSEs but that restricts your choice of school and subject hugely.

  7. #7
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    hiya guys and thanks for info i looked into the cambridge system and from what i see none of the state schools in the area offer this, i agree with you all that i think its best that he is there for the longest time possible before taking exams but he is digging his heals in over this. i think he is just scared of the unknown (we all are) but he is saying he wont go over in jan/feb that he is staying here till end of year 11 no matter what, god i love teenagers!! :/

  8. #8
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    You could try pointing out what Rob&Don said happened to their daughter. I mean, does he really WANT to stay an extra year at school? Obviously, his reaction will depend on his nature and what his school is like. (I remember at that age, I was resigned to staying on to take A-Levels because that was the passport to higher education, a more interesting career, etc., but regarded my time there as a sentence to be served - that particular school was NOT a happy place, and in any case, I was itching to get some independence and autonomy.)

  9. #9
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    I have pointed out to him about having to do an extra year and as im sure you can imagine he was less than impressed lol, he quite likes school at the moment but i think that is more to do with friends than the actual school itself. i heard back from the school that he would be most likely to attend and she agreed that its best to get him there soon as, i hope that if he hears it from the school itself then he might just listen (fingers crossed)

  10. #10

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    to answer the op... sorry... not a lot... and a-levels aint worth much more these days either

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