On the subject of gender specific qualifications...

This week the TES leads with the story that the exam board AQA have announced that they are going to produce gender-specific qualifications that are designed to ‘play to perceived male and female strengths.’  Although across England the broad statistical evidence is that boys do better with exams and girls with coursework, at Thames our small class sizes and personal knowledge of our students means that we can avoid some of the more worrying implications of the AQA ‘one size fits all’ approach and continue to cater for individuals. Our subject specialists have already responded to the required 2010 GCSE changes and are now teaching Year 9 either the new GCSE or IGCSE specifications according to individual needs, to enable every student to achieve their full potential. Many of the specifications we offer can have optional coursework so we can tailor to individual not gender needs.

Other students will not be so lucky if gender specific GCSE’s routes are introduced and results-hungry head teachers insist on setting classes by gender. Imagine the immense peer pressure to conform to the stereotype.  It will take a lot of courage for any boy to insist on doing coursework with the girls – even if that would lead to him gaining an A* rather than a C.  And vice versa for any girl whose learning style bucks the statistical trend.

And what else could be lost? (Apart from the battle against sexism and gender stereotyping?) Acquiring the self-discipline of coursework production: planning, researching, drafting, re-drafting, and motivating yourself to make sustained effort and application for a period of time,are vital skills needed to succeed on post 16 courses and in business life – whether you are a boy or girl.  Allowing boys ‘off the hook’ now, doesn’t help them develop the skills they need to succeed later in life. In the same way, neither will offering 100 % coursework-only options really benefit girls who want to progress to A Levels and on to University which have end of course examinations assessment.  Battling through the potential volume of coursework for 10 of the new AQA GCSE’s is likely to de-motivate them from wanting to study further.

Proponents of single sex education will be delighted but only because so many schools have failed to address successfully the core issue of why boys and girls may ‘distract each other and underachieve’.  Thames’ successful ‘no dating’ policy ensures that our students’ focus and interest while at school is firmly on their learning.  They are free to benefit from differing approaches to learning, gain broader views and perspectives, and develop respect and understanding for each other’s gender-driven differences. Our students learn to form appropriate and healthy friendships across genders and are ready for life in 21st Century Britain whilst achieving their full academic potential.