No, we want something less demanding.

Parkside Federation, a network of two state secondary schools in Cambridge, have been told by the Department for Children, etc, that their pupils must not be allowed to sit the International GCSE science exam. As the course was on a list of approved courses drawn up by Ofqual, the examinations regulator, the schools duly began classes on this basis in 2008. Everyone expected accreditation by the government. The IGCSE is modelled on the old GCE O-level and is approved by many of private schools, but is approved only for languages and history in state schools.

Now, well into the autumn term of the second and final year, the government has banned the course, effectively overruling its own regulator! It may not do too much harm to the students already preparing for the exam, as the domestic equivalent is generally regarded as a much less demanding course. In the long run the students may suffer, because they will have received an inferior preparation for A level science study and have a less acceptable qualification when they come to apply for university.

So why have Balls & Co taken this step?

1) Is it because there is no coursework assessment, unlike the domestic version, but merely a final exam? This is a recognition that some students find it more difficult to deal with a final exam, or alternatively that some receive outside help in coursework, or even that hard work should count in addition to final exam. The change might have penalised those with less understanding who would have succeeded by sheer hard work, but it would have given a greater chance of sorting out those with greater understanding from those with less. The IGCSE is more demanding and would reveal a greater range of ability.

2) Is it part of the equality ideology? This seeks to reduce the difference in attainment in order that all may pass. This ridiculous philosophy has already resulted in grade A and then A*, and who knows how soon it will need A**?

3) Is there a fear that the inadequacies of the domestic system will become further exposed?

What reason do Balls & Co give? They say that the IGCSE in compulsory subjects, English and Maths and Science, "does not meet the requirements of the curriculum." These requirements, I suspect, are ideological rather than educational.