Isle of Man schools lead exam board changes to 'benefit students'

Teachers have recommended the change in exams to better suit island students

A shift to allow Isle of Man secondary schools more choice over which exam boards they use will benefit students, the education minister has said.

Science and history exams are set to move from Cambridge International to Pearson Edexcel in September.

It follows a teacher-led review of bodies offering GSCE and IGCSEs for Year 10 and 11 students.

Julie Edge said the change would allow teachers the opportunity to pick the most suitable exams for pupils.

School leaders themselves were in the best position to decided which qualification boards were best, she added.

'Suitable exams'

Students who are already halfway through their science and history courses will not be affected by the change, which will take effect across the island's five high schools for those starting in Year 10 from September.

They will be graded from 9 to 1 instead of A* to G under the Pearson Edexcel exams, with grades equivalent to the current Cambridge International assessments.

Ms Edge said the review had been designed to give teachers "the chance to pick suitable exams" for the island's students.

"Different skills are needed for different boards, so there might be more practical elements in one over another," she said.

There had been "quite a few challenges" when the switch to International GSCEs in certain subjects was made in 2014, so reviewing the process was "the right thing to do", she added.

Under the review, any changes to the core subjects of English, Maths and Science had to be universally implemented, but individual schools have more freedom to pick different boards in other non-core subjects.