ABSTRACT

Prior to the introduction of the GCSE examination in 1985, external examinations in music at the age of sixteen were available at two levels: GCE (General Certificate of Education), O Level and CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education). Originally, the CSE examination had been developed exclusively for secondary modern pupils with O level taken only by those at grammar schools. However the comprehensivization of British schools during the sixties and seventies resulted in the both exams running in parallel with each other, often within the same school. However, the association of CSE with secondary modern schools inevitably resulted in it having lower status than O level .