The Student Room Group

All students must pass irrelevant qualifications before being accepted.

Does anyone know who decided that to get into university, everyone must pass GCSE English and sometimes GCSE maths?
They must have either gone into hiding or were killed by angry mobs soon after it was enacted, but why was this policy never abolished?

It decreases the calibre of students who get onto good undergraduate courses, as they have to reject a lot of the best applicants and lower A-level requirements. Extending this, the workforce also decreases in skill because graduates are on average less good at their subjects.
Original post by morgan8002
Does anyone know who decided that to get into university, everyone must pass GCSE English and sometimes GCSE maths?
They must have either gone into hiding or were killed by angry mobs soon after it was enacted, but why was this policy never abolished?

It decreases the calibre of students who get onto good undergraduate courses, as they have to reject a lot of the best applicants and lower A-level requirements. Extending this, the workforce also decreases in skill because graduates are on average less good at their subjects.



Perhaps for something like English GCSE they are looking for skill needed to pass or do well in it. Being able to develop thoughts in writing and write succinctly; skills which are sure to be used in uni
Original post by binarythoughts
Perhaps for something like English GCSE they are looking for skill needed to pass or do well in it. Being able to develop thoughts in writing and write succinctly; skills which are sure to be used in uni


I do agree that it should be included in the requirements for courses when it is relevant, the same for GCSE maths. However, when it is not in any way related to the course, it shouldn't be a requirement.
Name me a course that asks for A* at gcse for Maths or English that isn't Maths or English related. A "B" at GCSE is a joke of a requirement; it shouldn't affect any chances of getting. The average lower quartile student at gcse gets ~5-8A*s and the rest As. (such is the sad state of the extent of grade inflation).
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by CancerousProblem
Name me a course that asks for A* at gcse for Maths or English that isn't Maths or English related. A "B" at GCSE then is a joke of a requirement, it shouldn't affect any chances of getting. The average lower quartile student at gcse gets ~5-8A*s and the rest As. (such is the sad state of the extent of grade inflation).

That's a joke. Nowhere but medicine or Oxford would ask for those GCSE grades. At most state schools you're lucky if you get 1-2A*.
Of course they don't ask for A*s in irrelevant subjects, otherwise they would filter out almost all of the good students. I'm talking about B-C in those subjects.
Reply 5
It isn't just the qualification (no matter how irrelevant you think it is), it is the justification of the skills you develop on the course (SPAG, analytical skills etc). It's also another method of screening. I never thought it would be that important after University, but so many non-pedestrian jobs have high requirements for GCSEs, luckily for me I took them way too seriously and got good grades.

Just because it 'shouldn't' be a requirement doesn't make it unethical or unfair to ask for them. Usually if an employer is mildly concerned because you have a shocking GCSE English Literature grade, they'll probably interview you to see how articulate you are. Or just put you in the rejection pile because you don't fulfil one of their requirements.
Original post by CancerousProblem
Name me a course that asks for A* at gcse for Maths or English that isn't Maths or English related. A "B" at GCSE then is a joke of a requirement, it shouldn't affect any chances of getting. The average lower quartile student at gcse gets ~5-8A*s and the rest As. (such is the sad state of the extent of grade inflation).



Complete BS.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UhHfxt1X_vaofP7NfOWctnlTuXpD_dBlWwfoDH4VQ-k/edit?pli=1#gid=0

In 2013 and 2014 less than 7% of students achieved an A* on average by subject.


Clearly someone didn't get an A* in Critical Thinking.

:rolleyes:
Reply 7
u wanna c sum job apps an resums an that waht get sent in 4 jobs bruh their lyk huh???


It does rather bring an educational establishment into disrepute when someone claiming to have a degree from them is incapable of stringing together a comprehensible sentence. Especially when applying for a role as a business analyst or computer programmer where precise syntax, clarity and correctness are extremely important to an employer.

I despair of some of the applications and CVs I have seen from people claiming to have a degree. It's no wonder some employers insist on seeing the certificate.

And then you have to explain how %ages work when they cannot comprehend their payslip. :rolleyes:
Original post by Simes
u wanna c sum job apps an resums an that waht get sent in 4 jobs bruh their lyk huh???


It does rather bring an educational establishment into disrepute when someone claiming to have a degree from them is incapable of stringing together a comprehensible sentence. Especially when applying for a role as a business analyst or computer programmer where precise syntax, clarity and correctness are extremely important to an employer.

I despair of some of the applications and CVs I have seen from people claiming to have a degree. It's no wonder some employers insist on seeing the certificate.

And then you have to explain how %ages work when they cannot comprehend their payslip. :rolleyes:

Grammar has very little to do with GCSE English. The majority of the assessment does not take grammar into account. You can have perfect grammar and still fail.
Reply 9
Original post by morgan8002
Grammar has very little to do with GCSE English. The majority of the assessment does not take grammar into account. You can have perfect grammar and still fail.


Pretty sure I remember getting grammar marks for GCSE Enlisgh. Even for science subjects on my exam board (CCEA) there were 5 marks for grammar on each paper at GCSE.
Original post by falling
Pretty sure I remember getting grammar marks for GCSE Enlisgh. Even for science subjects on my exam board (CCEA) there were 5 marks for grammar on each paper at GCSE.

*English
There are a few, but the majority is about writing stories etc.. Science is a different story. At GCSE and A-level, there are generally at least a handful of marks per paper given to grammar, which is more than get given for English.


Based on this, science is a better indicator of grammar than English, so would be a better set of qualifications for universities and employers to look at if they care about grammar.
This is one of the reasons I took A-level biology, to prove that my grammar is acceptable.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Xin Xang
Complete BS.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UhHfxt1X_vaofP7NfOWctnlTuXpD_dBlWwfoDH4VQ-k/edit?pli=1#gid=0

In 2013 and 2014 less than 7% of students achieved an A* on average by subject.


Clearly someone didn't get an A* in Critical Thinking.

:rolleyes:


Implying those results aren't made up to make those 5 or 6% of kids that that got a B or C feel better.
I believe you have to have shown a required level of competence in those subjects (not necessarily expertise!) in order to apply it to skills such as essay writing, projects etc. at university.

Its all very well being amazing at say statistics for example, but if you can't write coherently in order to present your information in a suitable way for the world of employment, higher education etc. then you should inevitably be viewed as a less attractive student to one that can.

Hence I believe it makes perfect sense to require those grades - lower than them should really be sub-university standard no matter where you go

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