I have been to a 'choose your exam options' evening at The Brat's school 
Jezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzus ..how complicated can you make it. Because this is the theoretically the first lot of kids that will be required to be in full time education until they are 18 they have to choose courses directed to certain pathways . 3 pathways - vocational , further education to university, and further education with a view to getting into elite universities etc.
Under each pathway core subjects and then a mix of courses that have to be taken from a mixture of modules but have to account for the number of periods taken not taking into account the core periods required in the pathways - are you with me so far
Sounds very much like they are building up to switching from A levels to the International Bac syllabus to me. THW has done the "Welsh Baccalaureate" version. Lot of work involved but better prep for uni than the now discredited GCSE followed by A levels. Also doing the Bac saves having to concentrate on a few subjects the choice of which is made too early.
A levels will be phased out over the next few years. With the International Bac they can go anywhere. All unis that we have spoken to now require something more than a result in a heavily scaffolded couple of A levels. The Bac show a commitment to work over a period of time, requires a more in depth and broader knowledge and contains some of the things that Unis now look for that are not available at A level. This may explain why the THW has 5 offers on the table to choose from whereas those in her year group who did not take the Bac have none.
