A poll of Welsh independent schools has revealed that some parents lack confidence in the Welsh exam system.
The poll by the Western Mail found that many Welsh private schools opted for England’s new number-graded GCSEs, with one head stating it “was very clear that the groundswell of opinion was for England’s GCSEs”.
Simon Antwis, headteacher at St Clare’s School in Porthcawl, personally backs Wales’ GCSE reforms, but said that parents – when consulted during a specially-held meeting – wanted their children to take England’s qualification.
He added: “This is not a protest against education in Wales and our pupils took the Welsh A levels. I think parents have seen the statistics produced across Wales in numeracy and literacy and the GCSE results for them are lower. I think the opinion was that the English GCSEs were of a higher standard.”
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