The History of O Levels, the Former British Qualification

Ever since 1951, O Levels were introduced. The main aim of O Levels was to assess students' academic ability and it is believed that they were aimed at around 40% of students while discriminating the other 60% of students who generally struggled with the type of content.

 

The other purpose for O Levels was to serve as a leaving qualification since most students in the mid and middleish 20th Century often finished school at the age of 16. Not many went onto do A Levels at 6th Form.​​​

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So why were they scrapped?

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While the full reason is not entirely understood, the main reason for the O Levels replacement with the new qualifications (called GCSEs as we have so today) was because of the rigorous and narrow approach the O Levels offered people. They were abolished in 1987.

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Now we have GCSEs, equivalent to O Levels, except the fact that they are believed to be more wide and diverse, allowing every student to thrive and have opportunity. However... is that really the case for all young people?​