Sixteen state secondary schools signed up for International GCSE courses in July - a month after the Government opened up the qualifications to the state sector. IGCSEs have been favoured by many private schools which believe the exams are tougher than traditional GCSEs. But state secondaries were banned from offering IGCSEs in core subjects after the previous Government said they failed to meet the requirements of the curriculum. But in June, Education Secretary Michael Gove reversed the decision.
