School certificate, history of

[chezzachez.livejournal.com]

Hi - I have a friend who is writing a pre-war school story and who wants to be historically accurate. She would like to know whether the School Certificate, in about 1938, could be taken at Christmas, or was it strictly summer only? Thanks for your help in advance knowledgeable people!

Comments

[coughingbear]

Just to note that strictly speaking this is off-topic (unless you can find a way to link it to Forest, of course...).

In any case you may have more success with one of the britpicking communities such as http://hp-britglish.livejournal.com/, http://britpickery.livejournal.com/, or the more general comm http://little-details.livejournal.com/.

[chezzachez.livejournal.com]

Sorry. And thanks.

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

Resits were available (confirmed by various Google results), and according to Enid Blyton could be done in November (Alicia had measles so had to re-take School Cert in Fifth Form at Malory Towers).

I would imagine you would need a reason for taking it in the winter, such as illness at the usual time. Note failing one subject meant having to resit all of them, as matriculation required all passes on the same certificate.

[mheloyse.livejournal.com]

Not that this means it couldn't be taken at Christmas, but I don't think MT's Alicia retook it in November - when Miss James is giving her start of term talk and refers to people re-taking School Cert, the text of In the Fifth says: "Alicia sighed. It wouldn't be this term of course, but she hated the idea of having to leave the others and have special coaching."
I always assumed from this she'd be retaking it in the summer, alongside the previous year's entrants.

[sue marsden (from livejournal.com)]

Not strictly true -The School Certificate Examination was usually taken at age 16 with performance in each subject being graded as; Fail, Pass, Credit or Distinction. Students were required to gain six passes including English and mathematics in order to obtain a certificate and in order to obtain a 'matriculation exemption' it was necessary to obtain credits in five subjects including English, mathematics, science and a language. Those who failed could retake the examination.

My mother failed French so didn't get matric exemption but did get School Certas she passed everything else.. She retook French in the autumn but failed again - she didn't retake all the others afaik.