IGCSE

hellokids

Would anyone tell why some students taking IGCSE exam at F.4 (year 10 in ESF system)?

hellokids

Too bad...thought that pressure would be lighten at the normal IGCSE exam year if some subjects have been done a year earlier:(
Thanks all for your valuable sharings😊

shadeslayer

原帖由 Chole 於 15-08-31 發表
My girl took IGCSE Chinese (super easy) at grade 9 instead of grade 11.   At grade 10 she took AS an ...

My girl's school is also like this and definitely will not save time. The school is concerned about posting appropriately challenging curriculum for the students at all times, no time saving or early head start of IBDP.

Chole

My girl took IGCSE Chinese (super easy) at grade 9 instead of grade 11.   At grade 10 she took AS and she will take A2 at grade 11.  

I heard that nobody cares if a Hongkonger took A Level Chinese but that's her school's arrangement.

She took a foreign language at grade 10 too (teacher insisted that she's capable though I was not particularly convinced).  Her school will arrange another public exam at grade 11 so there's no "savings" in terms of revision time.

However, I must admit that it's good to give her a taste of public exam especially because she had no school exam until the last semester of grade 10 (which was a total disaster as she did not know how to deal with two weeks' exam).

FattyDaddy

hellokids 發表於 15-8-31 12:48
Also, what benefits would there be in taking that exam in advance of the normal age ...

The benefit is, assuming the student passes, there will be one less exam to sit for in the following year so the load will be lightened, but in reality the school generally expects the student to take on an extra subject (I did Additional Maths) to fully utilize the time.

Like I said in my previous post, that tiny bit of edge gained at that age hardly makes any difference.in the context of a lifetime :)

nintendo

hellokids 發表於 15-8-31 12:48
回覆 nintendo 的帖子

My understanding was IGCSE exam is taken at F.5 / grade 11 and wondered why th ...

Like I said, Year 11 is F4. So it is fine to take it in F4 if you are in local school.
Note that the system in the UK is not the same as in HK.

HK F4 = UK Year 11 = US Grade 10

Would this make more sense to you now?

hellokids

回覆 nintendo 的帖子

My understanding was IGCSE exam is taken at F.5 / grade 11 and wondered why there're students taking such exam on some subjects at F4 / Grade 10. Also, what benefits would there be in taking that exam in advance of the normal age. Some parents have already provided some very useful info in their earlier replies (including you). Of course more comments / thoughts are welcome if some reading this topic found that we missed something in the discussion or they'd like to share some more insight or cases relating to taking such exam earlier.

nintendo

hellokids 發表於 15-8-31 10:58
Thanks all for your contribution to the topic! More is welcome😊

What exactly are your concerns or queries?

FattyDaddy

In this day and age, people may live to 80 or more years, so being ahead of fellow classmates for one year in the context of an entire lifetime is trivial to say the least :)

hellokids

Thanks all for your contribution to the topic! More is welcome😊

hellokids

回覆 Activehealth 的帖子

Thanks much Activehealth!

FattyDaddy

hellokids 發表於 15-8-30 18:00
Would anyone tell why some students taking IGCSE exam at F.4?

It is a common practice that goes way back.

Around 40 years ago when I was studying in the UK I took GCE Maths at the end of my 4th form. However, having taken the exam didn't mean I could thus skip Maths class the following year

shadeslayer

原帖由 nintendo 於 15-08-31 發表
本帖最後由 nintendo 於 15-8-31 09:39 編輯

That is what I thought too. Doing IGCSE at year 11 or local form 4 age is the "normal" age.  Earlier for the smarter students at that particular subject.

shadeslayer

原帖由 nintendo 於 15-08-31 發表
FYI, there are local schools that arrange students to take IGCSE.

Thanks but I know. That's why I said "mainstream". I know kid's doing IGCSE in SPC school.

nintendo

hellokids 發表於 15-8-30 18:00
Would anyone tell why some students taking IGCSE exam at F.4?

Well, why not?
If a student wants to take IGCSE, it will be before high school curriculum like IBDP or AL.
DSE is a weird thing. Other high school curriculum span over 2 years. Only DSE span 3 years.
So, if local students take IGCSE, it make sense to take it at F4.
Of course, if you want, you can do it any time you want. Some "gifted children" do it much earlier.
Just as you wish.
But it does make sense to take it at F4.

nintendo

shadeslayer 發表於 15-8-31 09:27
Since you agree British year 8 = Local form 1 at 12 yeas of age, it follows that British year 11 = l ...

FYI, there are local schools that arrange students to take IGCSE.

shadeslayer

原帖由 Activehealth 於 15-08-31 發表
In the ESF system and the British system, kids start Year 1 P.1 at 5 and  Year 7 F.1 at 11.
Yes, th ...

Since you agree British year 8 = Local form 1 at 12 yeas of age, it follows that British year 11 = local form 4 at 15 years of age.  Am I missing something?

I don't understand the question in the first place. Why do we talk about local form 4 or form 5 as the main stream local school students do not do IGCSE and everybody agree IGCSE happens at British year 11 (with year 12/13 on A level or IBDP).

As others explained, there is no minimum age for I/GCSE and many students do certain subjects younger than 15.

nintendo

Activehealth 發表於 15-8-31 07:29
Year 11 is F.5, Year 12 is F.6 & Year 13 is F.7 according to the ESF system.
Year 11 F.5 is the stan ...

Local vs ESF:
K3 = Year 1
P1 = Year 2
P2 = Year 3
P3 = Year 4.P4 = Year 5
P5 = Year 6
P6 = Year 7
F1 = Year 8
F2 = Year 9
F3 = Year 10
F4 = Year 11
F5 = Year 12
F6 = Year 13
In the end, the same number of years of pre-university education. Not confusing at all.

Activehealth

hellokids 發表於 15-8-30 22:54
Thanks both for your reply! So does it mean those students finish their IGCSE exam on the subjects t ...

Hellokids, as far as I understand and have been told. It's a common practice in the ESF secondary schools, there are different pathways in subjects like Maths. Students in the advanced Maths class will take the IGCSE Maths exam near the end of Year 10 (late May/early June) while other students will do so in Year 11. So they have more time to cover their extended units in IBDP Maths in Year 12 without having to worry about the IGCSE Maths exam.
They would have a separate certificate for Maths and results would be on 2 certificates. But it is seen to be of a bonus by most tertiary institutions as it is sign of higher abilities.

The guy that I know who did IGCSE at 10 and got A* , is attending school in the UK. His school may ask him to take the IGCSE Maths again to make it a "complete" certificate. It would not be a problem for him at all with his Maths ability. His multiple attempts would be a showcase of his exceptional talent. Apparently it is a common practice in the UK for kids who are highly gifted and most welcome by the UK universities.

For all who know more on this than me, if the above mentioned  is not correct, please kindly point it out and rectify as you see appropriate.

hellokids

For school with year 13: year 11 = F5 local system
For school with year 12 only: year 10 = F5 local system