IGSCE Question

[A Lurker]

I am not from the UK and I find the schooling system confusing so please bear with.

 

If I understand correctly from reading previous threads a child receiving IGSCE  education (usually finishing around year 11 aged 16 or so) will be considered by the MOE to be the equivalent of M6. My question is, does their need to be a minimum number of subjects passed to qualify for this? Also, how does this work in the UK? Is there a number of subjects that have to passed to receive the certificate?

 

Any information appreciated. I see there are several knowledgeable commentators here.

[DavisH]

My understanding is that it is 5 subjects passed at grade C. It's been a long time since I looked into that though. I don't really recommend that path as the few that I know who did it really struggled with university as they lacked the strong maths /science background you get from the more advanced work of senior high school. 

[MikeyIdea]

GCSE or with a bit more international content IGCSE is based on the British curriculum and contains several levels, it is not clear which one you refer to

Final GCSE / IGCSE exams take place end of year 11 = grade 10 but there are a number of exams during year 9 and 10 leading up to that. You need minimum grade C in Scholastic subjects, I can't remember them all but they are basically the core subjects, English, Maths, Science etc. Subjects like Art and P.E. don't count. It continues with A-levels at the end of year 13 = grade 12. The old AS level exams still exist but it's quite useless to sit them nowadays as they don't count for the A level any longer anyway (=you have to re-take the AS part for your A level even if you passed the AS exam).

 

A level maths is quite a bit more advanced than IGCSE / GCSE maths, it's 2 years further studies. IGCSE / GCSE wouldn't be enough for science /technical universities for sure. It should practically be enough for HR, History, Literature degrees if the university accepts

 

MoE changed the rules 1-Jan-2017 so that students with IGCSE no longer can enter Thai Universities at the age of 16 but they are still accepted at 18. Most universities anyway, I don't know if it is all of them. I don't actually know if MoE formally rate GCSE/IGCSE as equivalent to M6 high School Diploma

 

GCSE/IGCSE is a level approx. 2 years earlier than minimum requirements to (most?) European universities. IB is approx. 2 years longer too = equivalent to A-levels. It's possible to take GCSEs/IGCSEs at any school, quit and self-study to take the A-level exams independently at a British Counsel but it's certainly not easy, guidance is a must. British Counsel in Bangkok do A level exams a few times per year

Michael

[A Lurker]

Thanks Michael. My son is an average student and still very much playing catch up on English proficiency. It will be a struggle I think to get through to the year 11 IGSCE exams and pass the core subjects which by the looks are 5 as DavidH says and that will include English.

 

I think I did read somewhere that the MOE can ratify you as M6 diploma equivalent but I guess that will be contingent on passing those core subjects (not a given!). 

 

My focus is less on university and just having the minimum requirement (M6) that qualify him for work in Thailand

 

 

[MikeyIdea]

I think British Counsel do IGCSE exams too by the way.

 

IGCSE and you must pass 5 core subjects and for sure, English is one of them - And Yes, I bet it's not easy for a child has been in a Thai school to pass an IGCSE exam for the subject English :)

 

Kids do pick up very very fast though so a year or possibly two in "the right environment" should really be enough

[MikeyIdea]

8 hours ago, A Lurker said:

My focus is less on university and just having the minimum requirement (M6) that qualify him for work in Thailand

IGCSE (and M6 certification) could really help him to a better job  in Thailand though

[A Lurker]

Thanks MikeyIdea. At this stage our choice is between IGCSE or the Thai school system so we've gone with the former. I don't think the"international" school he's been in for the last for the last year or so (he's 11 now) is going to get him over the line at the rate their going as they seem pretty slack. I'm considering homeschooling him and sitting the exams externally. My concern though is if he doesn't pass those 5 subjects and get the M6 equivalent it will put him at a disadvantage. 

[MikeyIdea]

11 years old now? That should easily be enough time

 

"International" within quotation marks surprise me, not that the school still can be bad as such but rather that IGCSE is not one level here and another level in England, it's the same and if the school is that bad, then 50% of its students would never pass the IGCSE exams and in fact never get a high school diploma

[A Lurker]

1 hour ago, MikeyIdea said:

 it's the same and if the school is that bad, then 50% of its students would never pass the IGCSE exams and in fact never get a high school diploma

My feeling is that most of the students are not passing but I'm trying to get official information on that.

[MikeyIdea]

11 hours ago, A Lurker said:

My feeling is that most of the students are not passing but I'm trying to get official information on that.

Schools that are allowed to hold IGCSE exams are audited and controls are strict, there is no Thai style "pass anyway"

 

The majority of the students have rich Thai parents and they are not stupid. They would never allow their children to continue if their kids couldn't get into a university after grade 12.

[DavisH]

13 hours ago, MikeyIdea said:

Schools that are allowed to hold IGCSE exams are audited and controls are strict, there is no Thai style "pass anyway"

 

The majority of the students have rich Thai parents and they are not stupid. They would never allow their children to continue if their kids couldn't get into a university after grade 12.

As I mentioned, IGCSE is an absolute bare minimum. I really don't believe a student can exceed in a math/science based degree (even in an International program in Thailand). Advanced studies such as A-levels/AP/IB are needed. 

 

If the OP's son is very weak in English, I would suggest they study in an English Program (some EP's also claim to cover IGCSE and also the Thai curriculum at the same time) where they will be able to do more study in English that a Thai school. In this school, they should finish M6 - because that can provide more advanced learning than what can be had in the IGCSE (I teach most of the basic maths IGCSE content during grade 9-10). At the same time, the child can study independent the IGCSE. I believe there are some courses in Bangkok that also cover the IGCSE content. 

[A Lurker]

Thanks DavisH. I would rather he go through the IGCSE system rather than the Thai. Just got to make sure we pass the damn thing! Hopefully there will be enough time to improve on the English.

[naboo]

A lot of western universities in Asia do "Foundation" year courses and "Pre-University" courses. Students can get onto these with IGCSEs, for example, The University of Nottingham in Malaysia generally asks for 5 or more IGCSEs at Grade B or above to get onto the foundation year course.

[tigerbeer]

Hi I am trying to find OXFORD IGCSE books in Chiang Mai and not able to. Can anyone point me to where I could order these Revision Guide books?

[MikeyIdea]

You can easily order online from either

https://thailand.kinokuniya.com or https://www.asiabooks.com/asia_books_branches

 

I would expect that both have one or several branches in Chiang Mai, have a look and go there and check what they have in stock at other branches, it can take a month or more to order from England

 

I like Kinokuniya more but to be honest, both are fine

 

Michael

 

 

 

 

[Number 6]

I would not suggest you son study in any Thai public EP programs given the discussion content. IMO he would be better off in the best public schools AND doing tutoring. Yes, Thai education and teachers are lacking but this combination nets thousands of students good GAT/PAT and SAT scores. 

 

He will need to shoot for:

Mahidol Wittayasorn

Triam Udom Suksa

Pathumwan Demonstration

Suankukarb Wittayalai

 

The math in these programs plus tutoring will get a student into the top universities in Thailand. Math/Science (Medicine), Arts/Math (Engineering) tracks.