Plans for students at Government schools to sit a raft of GCSEs in addition to their local graduation certificates may not require massive changes to the curriculum, Minister of Education Paula Cox said.

During an interview with The Royal Gazette, Ms Cox said she believed there would be fewer knock-on effects from the introduction of the international exams to the public school system than at first thought.

Trainers were on the Island last week working with teachers at both CedarBridge Academy and Berkeley Institute with the aim of starting the course work in September this year.

The exams, which are the main senior school qualification in the UK, will be phased in over the next three years, starting with English, maths, Spanish, French and home economics.

Ms Cox said after a long review of the public schools' accreditation and qualification programme, the two senior schools had opted to provide GCSEs, in addition to the Bermuda School Certificate (BSC).

The decision came due to concern that the BSC was not always recognised abroadand it was difficult to compare to overseas qualifications.

“The BSC will always continue, but we will also have, in terms of add-on and in terms of international accreditation, the GCSE,” said Ms Cox.

“They will be in addition to the BSC. The International Baccalaureate programme was being considered, but the decision from the senior schools is to work towards GCSEs.

“There is some adjustment to the curriculum, but to my understanding, it's not significant.”

Education Permanent Secretary Michelle Khaldun said the teachers were working with the trainers on curriculum last week, and had been pleasantly surprised at how, initially, little seemed to need to be changed.

“What they are finding out is that it's not as much as they thought it would be,” said Ms Khaldun. “I don't know if it's (going to be like that) in all subjects, but I know in the first couple of subjects they were looking at, it was not as much.”

Minister Cox said while the Ministry was involved in the discussions, it was the two principals and the review committee who opted for GCSEs in the end.

However, Ms Cox said that did not mean that the BSC was to become secondary.

On the contrary, she said the aim of giving greater choice was to ensure that all students would be able to leave with some certification, regardless of whether they were more academic or practical.

She added: “I think there is, though, some concern as to the status of the existing school leaving certificate (BSC), and, certainly, what we have made quite clear, in terms of looking at other jurisdictions, is that the BSC is accepted and students have been able to get in to very reputable universities, including Columbia and others, whether it's in the States, Canada or the UK.

“We have done research from that, but I think, as I have reminded and spoken to students, remember also that your grades have to be of a significant level. If you have mediocre grades then that's more the issue, rather than the benchmark.

“But I think also that we have not been as vocal; we have not been as much publicist about the credibility and the stature of the existing school leaving certificate.

“And in no way, shape or form, are we seeking to devalue that.”

But she said by introducing GCSEs, the Ministry was recognising that all children have the right to learn, compete and contribute at home and abroad.