General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE ) and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education ( IGCSE ) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland roughly correspond to the German secondary school leaving certificate . These exams will also be taken if students continue to attend school to gain college entrance qualification. The GCSE is considered the most important final exam for lower secondary education in the UK school system .
Students typically take GCSE exams in eight to fifteen subjects.
The range of grades extends from A * for the best grade to F.
There is a wide variety of GCSE exams available, but none of them are organized by the state, but by competing, state-approved Examination Boards .
After GCSE exams, which are usually taken at around 16 years of age, the AS level exams can be taken at around 17 years of age and then the A-level exams at 18 years of age . AS and A-level together form the (also in Germany) university qualification GCE, General Certificate of Education (equivalent to the German diploma ).
The introduction of the GCSE in Great Britain replaced the final exams previously used at the so-called O-Level. Its rating system, in turn, had been adapted many times over the decades of its use. In a number of other countries, mainly in the Commonwealth, the intermediate school leaving certificate is still called the O level.