Should foundation years replace GCSEs and A Levels?

A-levels should maybe not exist but instead the standards of GCSEs should be raised and then students could do their exams later then go straight to uni. tbh the whole UK education system needs changing

I don't get what this means. I think you can phrase this better as scrapping GCSEs and just having A-levels? But then what about the people that want to leave school post-16 to pursue professional/vocational qualifications? All GCSEs do, bar having the very minimal 5A*-Cs with english and maths in most cases is set the foundations for future studies. I don't think it's a very good idea for people to go to 18 without having any experience whatsoever of formal exams.

i agree but i don't think GCSEs are the problem. the problem is the sheer amount of exams the students have to do and i would cut down on the amount of papers students do:
for Maths there should only be 2 papers (1 calculator and 1 non-calculator paper)
science there should only be 3 papers (so one paper per science no need for 2 per science)
English 2 papers (1 lit, 1 lang)
MFL 2 papers (the reading and writing paper should be one paper and the listening and speaking could be another)
RS 2 papers (one for themes 1 for religion)
but yeah
Geography could also potentially only have 1 paper (but not history)

I think the volume of exams is worth looking at maybe more for students who will go down the vocational route or plan to sit foundation papers.

The problem with lowering the workload is you then get a bigger jump between GCSEs and A-levels, im not sure this is really useful, GCSEs often feel tough and a lot of work because many people havent experienced anything tougher before. The reality is they are a walk in the park and the workload required to do well is very low. This is not the case at A-level or uni...

If you lower the number of exams, i think something else needs to move. If it was a choice between shorter exams and more of them or less but longer, i think more exams is better .. I think concentrating for 2-3 hours straight is quite a lot for a 16 year old and hence having more 1.5-2 hour exams makes sense.

Foundation years add a new dimension to education. For the cost of £9000 they enable students to effectively bypass GCSEs and A Levels when entering degree courses.

Therefore would it be a good idea to phase out GCSEs and A Levels and replace them with foundation years at university? Vocational qualifications and apprenticeships will exist for students who do not wish to study for a degree.

Foundation years certainly do add a new dimension to education, they allow students to focus on core skills such as academic writing at a Higher Education level as well as developing the inner critical thinker.

At Liverpool Hope University, applicants for the foundation course must achieve 72 UCAS points to gain entry onto the course. These points can be made up of a range of level 3 or above qualifications including GCSE's and A-levels. There is no opportunity to effectively bypass any prior qualifications.

Hope this provides further information on foundation courses!

Robyn

It's only early days but I have known people who have achieved 1st and 2.1 in their degree starting with a foundation year who had no Level 3 qualifications and only a handful of GCSEs or other Level 2 qualifications.

I think it also depends on the degree course. For some degree subjects (like mathematics or chemistry) A Level knowledge is essential but for other subjects it's far less so. Some time ago I asked the question exactly which A Level subjects best prepare students (in terms of knowledge, not pleasing admissions officers) for a law degree. I didn't receive a clear answer but I'm tempted to say that A Levels are 90% credentialism and endurance and only 10% knowledge for this degree.

Students looking to go the vocational route tend to already not take up A-levels and go to college where they then get an apprenticeship.

I dont think foundation years should replace A-levels, at least for the more academic subjects. Foundation years are just a way for Unis to grind out an extra 9k from students tbh.

If people want to do them then by all means go for it, but I still think A-levels have a useful purpose (particularly further maths A-level, why would you want to end something so useful .. that is the best prep for uni , and id encourage any future engineer, physicist, mathematician etc. to do further maths over any access course/year-0 option)

how about we do this instead
1. make students sit their GCSEs when they are 18 years old (i did all of mine at 15 years old and i think that that's far too young considering "our brain isn't developed" (obviously let students sit their's earlier if they choose to do so))

2. make the legal you have to start school 7 (like it is in many other countries)

3. have more level 2 BTECs (so have level 2 applied science, food, pe, drama, child development, IT etc)

4. all schools within the same county should have the same subject opportunities (e.g all schools in Buckinghamshire should offer the exact same courses. (So there shouldn't be one secondary school offering GCSE economics and then one which is just around the corner not offering it, all schools within the same county should also have the same grade entry requirements, and do the same exam board for their subjects. For example all state schools in Buckinghamshire should do Edexcel GCSE P.E or whatever not state school A in Buckinghamshire is doing AQA P.E and state school B in Buckinghamshire is doing Edexcel))). Doing makes it easier for the parents and gives you real data as to who the "better school" is within a county a they all sat the exam same paper with the exact same questions (because you know the drama that happens every year that exam board X makes a mistake on paper Y and then due to this people who did exam board X get a lower grade on average for something that's completely out of their control)

5. all i have to say for now

I don't get what this means. I think you can phrase this better as scrapping GCSEs and just having A-levels? But then what about the people that want to leave school post-16 to pursue professional/vocational qualifications? All GCSEs do, bar having the very minimal 5A*-Cs with english and maths in most cases is set the foundations for future studies. I don't think it's a very good idea for people to go to 18 without having any experience whatsoever of formal exams.

Crazy idea imo (not yours) as both GCSE and A level are specific stepping stones on the route to acquiring academic skills.

Foundation years add a new dimension to education. For the cost of £9000 they enable students to effectively bypass GCSEs and A Levels when entering degree courses.

Therefore would it be a good idea to phase out GCSEs and A Levels and replace them with foundation years at university? Vocational qualifications and apprenticeships will exist for students who do not wish to study for a degree.

No I see what your saying but a 14/15 year old don't usually know ant they wan to do for the rest of their life so having a lot of options at GCSE (although GCSE's do need to be reformed) is a good thing. A levels the same and vocational courses can be just as rigorous (because you fail one bit you fail every thing) as A Levels and again you might know the field you like but not what aspect.

it's all good for people who :
A/ Cocked up their A levels.
B/ Want to change direction.

Nice idea but no cigar

Foundation years add a new dimension to education. For the cost of £9000 they enable students to effectively bypass GCSEs and A Levels when entering degree courses.

Therefore would it be a good idea to phase out GCSEs and A Levels and replace them with foundation years at university? Vocational qualifications and apprenticeships will exist for students who do not wish to study for a degree.

agree re: a levels (stuff you cover in the 1st year of uni / 2-4 years foundation is similar level but much more in depth / up to date and relevant content). regarding GCSE...debatable.