A BRITISH decision to remove the GCSE and the A Level from its school system would have little impact on Bermuda's students and their opportunities to attend colleges abroad, educators here believe.

As debate on whether to abolish the General Certificate of Secondary Education raged in England this week, local administrators pointed out that internationally-recognised alternatives have long been in place ? with or without the GCSE, they feel Bermuda's students are well-positioned to enter the top universities of their choice.

"This debate has been around for a long time and, in fact, goes back to the 1980s when the United Kingdom made the first of its attempts to develop vocational qualifications with parity to academic qualifications like GCSEs and A Levels," explained Warwick Academy headmaster Robert Lennox.

"It is highly unlikely that (they) will disappear overnight. In any case, the backbone to the UK and Welsh system for students between the ages of five and 16 is the National Curriculum, which offers a very well-constructed programme in every subject.

"This underlying structure is unlikely to change. Warwick Academy uses it already and, for children between the ages of 14 and 16, it has been constructed to 'marry' with the GCSEs, which are, in fact, just extra accreditation."

this week reported that A Levels and GCSEs are likely to be "swept away" within a decade, in the face of growing pressure from schools and colleges.

The demands partner an attempt by British schools and colleges to "offer disaffected youngsters a more suitable mix of practical and academic study". According to , educators feel the present qualifications do not properly reflect students' achievements within the system.

Proposals to abolish the qualifications were set out in a report by Sir Mike Tomlinson, former head of Britain's schools' regulator, Ofsted. That report, which saw virtually unanimous support from the teaching profession, recommended a single diploma for students aged 14 through 19, in place of GCSEs, A Levels and vocational qualifications.

Local students no longer sit A Level examinations, the tests were removed from the curriculum with the creation of the Bermuda College. GCSEs may still be taken, however. At Warwick Academy, all of its students ? approximately 75 youngsters each year ? study nine GCSE subjects and the International Baccalaureate.

According to Government's Chief Education Officer Joseph Christopher, some 350 students within the island's public school system elected to sit the exams this year.

The pair offered different opinions on the way in which the exams were viewed by educators world wide.

"Warwick Academy chooses to predominantly use theI (International) GCSE rather than the standard GCSE," said Mr. Lennox. "This is because it is constructed for schools overseas and offers certain advantages ? you're able to select which history topics to follow.

"You can avoid the ones purely based on the UK. It puts more emphasis on pure examination rather than coursework so as to avoid difficulties of moderation. It is also more rigorous. And, as it is run by the Cambridge International Examinations Board and not by the same examination boards as the GCSEs, it will be exempt from any changes.

"For students past the age of 16, we have already adopted the International Baccalaureate (IB) which, although it doesn't reach as high a level as the A Level, it is a broader, more demanding package, enabling youngsters to keep their options open for longer.

"GCSEs and IGCSEs are certainly highly regarded across the world in spite of some of the home-based debate about standards. Indeed, the truth is that our youngsters get their North American college and university places through their I/GCSEs ? they haven't got any higher results at the point these institutions make their offers."

Said Dr. Christopher: "I think it's always useful, since Bermuda is such a small, closed community, to have students take international examinations. It does give them an additional qualification, but the BSC can be used to go abroad to North America as well.

"The top North American colleges look at high school diplomas along with the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The BSC is a more stringent high school diploma than they have in many high schools in North America.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that a child with a BSC and good scores on the SAT would be admitted into university. As well, the BSC is recognised internationally. Not all universities in North America would be aware of the GCSE exam."

The Education Officer added that his department has been monitoring the debate in Britain without great concern. Should the GCSE be abolished, the Ministry has the option of including its replacement in the local curriculum.

"So the real issue is what qualifications can be used and why do we want students to do external examinations? If the GCSE is moved off the scene, we would then look at what options are available for students to do international examinations.

"The International Baccalaureate is one such possibility, but we will continue to examine what is available for our students. So we will keep our eyes on the situation in the UK as it changes and we will continue to investigate other options so that our students, if they wish, always have the option of doing an international examination."