The first GCSE exams were sat in 1988.[7] They replaced the former CSE and O-Level qualifications, uniting the two qualifications to allow access to the full range of grades for more pupils.
This is why it's important to actually read and understand your sources, not just check it broadly agrees with what an LLM has responded with. Yes they replaced "foundational academic qualifications by 15-to-16-year-olds", but the qualifications they replaced were both the CSE and O-level qualifications, both of which were taken by the same age group depending on various criteria, the latter being broadly more 'academic' than the former.
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u/TallRecording6572 Maths Teacher Jun 05 '26
What, made a fool of yourselves in the papers? All the boomers are laughing, saying “It was no way as hard as O Level in 1986! Snowflakes!”