To ask Her Majesty's Government why it is necessary for International GCSEs to be accredited in order for them to be included in contextual value added calculations. [HL2439]

Qualifications are reported in the achievement and attainment tables if they have been approved by the Secretary of State for use in maintained schools. Before a qualification can be considered for approval, it must be accredited by the independent regulator Ofqual. Ofqual's accreditation process is necessary to ensure that qualifications from awarding bodies meet specific requirements and are aligned to the national curriculum programmes of study in England. International GCSEs have not been submitted for accreditation to Ofqual. It would be inconsistent to set up an independent regulator and then approve qualifications that are outside its remit. Until such a time as Ofqual has accredited those qualifications and they are approved for use in maintained schools, we would not be in a position to include them in the achievement and attainment tables, including the contextual value added calculations.

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 23 March (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 441) that “IGCSEs have not been submitted for accreditation to Ofqual”, whether some international GCSEs have been accredited, but under a different name. [HL2510]

International GCSEs (iGCSE) have not been put forward for accreditation by either of the two awarding bodies which offer them, Edexcel and Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).

CIE put forward for accreditation a number of Cambridge International Certificates, which are similar to its iGCSEs. These have recently been accredited by Ofqual, the independent qualifications regulator, and have come to Ministers for approval for use in the maintained sector under Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. We expect to make a decision shortly.