I have recently been looking at the various options that pupils studying gcse have and what is best for them and their akill level and applications. I have been conversing with the various heads of departments in the two schools that I have been in. I have seen how GCSE ICT is such a demand on the coursework front which has put allot of pressure on one member of staff. I have been recommended to look at the iGCSE option that the exam board Cambridge run. http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications/academic/middlesec/igcse/subject?assdef_id=969
The benefits of this course are that it has no coursework and is completely assed via one exam and two practical exams. So from a teaching perspective it does not require much course work assessment but more input from the teacher.The ammount of assesment is then reduced allowing the teaching to focus more on their actual teaching.
The down side is that it is highly academic and quite demanding so you need to make sure that the pupils that subscribe to the course are high achieving pupils.
I have recommended this to the head of ICT with the school that I will be working in next year as I feel it would be suited to the style of pupils that go to the school. The pupils on the whole are high achieving and would be able to achieve at a high level.
So I have been able to work well in the team that I will be going into and drawing well on experience with the current teaching team that I am in.
