# Questions on the education system in England: GCSE, A Levels, Universities **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702 "2019-08-15T16:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/41 "2019-08-19T09:16:34Z")
The Scottish system is slightly different at the University level from the English/Welsh system as well. For a start, the typical degree course in England is 3 years, in Scotland it’s 4. I’ve heard the first year in Scotland is more general and gives more flexibility. I guess the extra year gives more time to be flexible on such things, but as I’ve only been through the English system, as did most of my friends. The course I dropped out of years ago in England was zoology; the first year of modules was entirely fixed. One basic computing module (early 2000s, not everyone at that point was really using a computer at school), the rest were, in theory, related to the course, so genetics, animal physiology (and one weird stray module about ion uptake by plants which had no relevance to anything but couldn’t be skipped or dropped). The second year was likewise fully planned out, with an option in the third year to pick either a behaviour or, iirc, genetics speciality. The course I am currently on, at a different university, is completely fixed, although the project work which takes up much of the third year is my choice and very flexible, the taught modules are all fixed. And “revise” means to stare at your notes thinking “What the hell is that illegible squiggle supposed to represent, and why did I only write down 5 words from an hour long lecture?!” while drinking all of the coffee at 3am 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/42 "2019-08-19T09:25:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I went from Astronomy in undergrad to Physics in grad school, and even that involved taking a couple of remedial courses. Heh, I never would have thought it was possible to get an undergrad degree in Astronomy. In Spain Astronomy is considered a specialty within Physics. It used to be exactly that, back when most undergrad degrees were 3 years of “common coursework” followed by two of “specialization” (now you get 2 years of “common coursework” followed by 2 with some “requireds” and some “optionals”, but your optionals still come in bundles). Nowadays a quick look at the programs of several universities tells me it’s moved to the Masters level (as have most former “specializations”). Under our old system, you would have started Physics with the idea of specializing in Astronomy, decided that wasn’t really for you (hopefully during the first three years) and picked another branch. Under the new one, you would study Physics, choose between “Fundamental” and “Applied” (or similar labels) for your undergrad specialization, then decide that you were not going to take that Masters in Astronomy after all… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/43 "2019-08-19T09:27:46Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > Well, I always have, and always will, count my CSYS Maths Paper I and Paper II as two separate qualifications. I do of course count my CSYS Maths Paper III (Calculus) as at least the equivalent of an A level. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/44 "2019-08-19T09:33:20Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > And “revise” means to stare at your notes thinking “What the hell is that illegible squiggle supposed to represent, and why did I only write down 5 words from an hour long lecture?!” while drinking all of the coffee at 3am 😉 What would be the expression for “copying your squiggles into a more-legible form before they become completely illegible”? The Spanish one is such a weirdo I can’t even come up with a literal translation to English. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/45 "2019-08-19T12:05:25Z")
Am I to understand that those two “math papers” were published research in some sort of scholarly journal? That sounds pretty ambitious for a teenager. **Nava** , majoring in astronomy is very much like just a specialized branch of physics. But even with that degree of similarity, I was still short on some classes that a pure physics major would have been expected to take. Most notably, I had plenty of classical mechanics (including an extremely fun class entirely focused on orbital mechanics), but I was thin on E&M and quantum. I think majoring in physics would also have included an introductory course or two in chemistry, which I never did take (a bit to my regret, now). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/46 "2019-08-19T15:28:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Am I to understand that those two “math papers” were published research in some sort of scholarly journal? That sounds pretty ambitious for a teenager. Exam papers, not the research kind. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/47 "2019-08-19T17:10:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What would be the expression for “copying your squiggles into a more-legible form before they become completely illegible”? The Spanish one is such a weirdo I can’t even come up with a literal translation to English. Dunno, write up your notes? That’s not very specific though. I clearly don’t do it often enough, regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/48 "2019-08-19T18:19:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What would be the expression for “copying your squiggles into a more-legible form before they become completely illegible”? The Spanish one is such a weirdo I can’t even come up with a literal translation to English. There’s no standard expression for that. You might say “I need to recopy my notes into a legible form,” but that’s not the only thing you can say. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/49 "2019-08-22T21:07:41Z")
So, GCSE results came out today and I’m even more confused. Someone posted that the got a two in Maths but a 70. Isn’t 70 and above considered a first? Two counties divided by a common language but a very different education system. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702/50 "2019-08-22T21:45:43Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > So, GCSE results came out today and I’m even more confused. Someone posted that the got a two in Maths but a 70. Isn’t 70 and above considered a first? > > Two counties divided by a common language but a very different education system. Maybe the 70 was a typo? There are no firsts for GCSEs. Grade boundaries vary an awful lot per subject and won’t have been published yet. The new GCSE grades are numbered. I mentioned that before but it actually is better demonstrated by a graphic: [GCSEs: How do the new 9-1 grades work? - BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44125336) The reason it’s best demonstrated by a graphic is because it’s not B=5. The highest grade is now 9. Which is higher than an A\*. When I took GCSEs, there wasn’t an A\* grade. A 2 in maths now is a failing grade, and not the kind you can usually improve on with retakes. There’s no 70. I’m also confused. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-the-education-system-in-england-gcse-a-levels-universities/838702.md?page=2)