4/12/2008 4:51:00 PM
The Guardian 12 April
An elite exam for 18-year-olds designed to rival A-levels and prepare top-performing students for university has won official backing from the Qualification and Curriculum Authority. Thirty schools will teach the Cambridge Pre-U from September - 24 are private schools and only six state schools. Headteachers last night warned that if that trend continues it could grow into a qualification divide between fee-paying and other schools. The Cambridge Pre-U has been described as a return to a more traditional style of A-level course before it was broken down into modules. It will have more end-of-course exams, essay-based questions and students will not be allowed to retake modules. It has been accredited by the QCA, it was revealed yesterday, and will be funded by the government in state schools. But there are fears that the disproportionate take-up by private schools - which educate only 7% of the school-age population - will lead to a split in the system. Martin Ward, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Lecturers, said: "We have a tendency in England to create a hierarchy out of things and there is a real danger that this could happen here. It clearly is going to be all the more difficult to maintain fairness to young people ... if there are different sets of qualifications for different schools." The Pre-U diploma has been drawn up by the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), part of Cambridge University. Under the two-year Pre-U, students complete three main subjects, as in A-levels. In some cases, students could opt to use A-level syllabuses. They also complete a global perspectives and research component - a course focusing on global issues - which leads to an independent research report on a topic chosen by the student.Guardian
Lead Story | Curriculum / Quality Assurance
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