You might know from press reports that the government has suddenly introduced restrictions to early entry for GCSE examinations with immediate effect. In short, the government is opposed to students taking their examinations before the end of year 11.

This means that all secondary schools are being compelled to rethink policy and practice with regard to times of entry. We at Marden have given careful thought to this matter and it looks as if we will still be entering a very substantial number of students for GCSE English and maths this November, provided they are well on course to meet their target grades. If students are not ready to take these exams, we will be delaying their English and/or maths entries until the summer.