Ordinary Wizarding Level

[lotusbiosm]

So, with Harry Potter 6 coming out soon (July 16th!), my boss and I have taken to discussing Harry Potter often. I am sending out a request to my friends list, full of interesting and educated people. I feel certain that O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s have some sort of analagous counterpart in the English/British school system, but I, being a Yank, don't really understand said system. I see vague references to "A-Levels" and such, but I don't know what they are. Could any of you explain it to me? Pretty please?

Comments

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Oh, of course our younger children now have SATs too, and they're always talking about revising the 16/18 exams - latest talk is that we will switch to an IB/US Diploma style qualification. Ho hum. Every time we get a new Education Minister we get a new Grand Scheme, I think. :)

I would have loved the AP system, I think. At 13 I was motivated. By 17 I was sooooo pissed off with the whole thing, because there was very little room to stretch pupils under the original implementation of GCSEs. It was all about creating a level playing field, which really did no one any favours.

We have to think about this soon for smallclanger, of course. In theory he can start formal education in Sept 2006, urk!