LETTER : Don't turn A-levels into glorified GCSEs

SO THERE are plots afoot to meddle with A-levels ("A-levels face major reform", 26 March). But why not leave them as they are? Or better still, why not ask students what they want?

Providing a basic knowledge in a wide range of subjects is surely the purpose of GCSEs, not A-levels. At 16, the majority of students are ready and eager to specialise. I struggled reluctantly through GCSE science, counting the days until I could give it all up in favour of English, politics and religious studies, subjects I care about and want to study further. The very idea of having to spend my sixth form years doing a glorified GCSE is horrific. This doesn't mean that I can't add up or that my friends who study science are illiterate

These proposals, if introduced, will only lower standards and produce uninterested students who don't know enough about anything.

Sarah Hagger

London W7