One of Britain’s leading independent schools is to poll parents on whether it should abandon the GCSE because the qualification has become too “formulaic” and boring.

Anthony Seldon, the Master of Wellington College in Berkshire, said that he was losing faith in the GCSE system to promote stimulating and exciting lessons. Instead he wants the college to become the first independent school in Britain to enter its 16-year-old pupils for the Middle Years Programme (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB).

At present, more than 150 state and independent schools across Britain offer the IB diploma as an alternative to A level. The MYP, however, is available in only six international schools and one state school: Dartford Grammar School for Boys, in Kent.

Dr Seldon said he thought that if parents voted in favour of the MYP, other independent schools with concerns about the GCSE would follow suit, placing the credibility of the qualification in serious doubt.

His action brought a warning from other heads that the schools system in England was at risk of drifting into “educational apartheid”, with different examination systems for pupils in state and independent schools.

Pat Langham, head of Wakefield Girls’ School, believes that the answer is for independent schools to stick with GCSEs and A levels and to work to change the system from within.

“If the view is that the GCSE is not good enough for the independent sector, then it’s not good enough for state school pupils either,” she said.

Dr Seldon said that taking GCSEs, which are arranged in modules and require coursework, was like being on a treadmill. “[Pupils] start their course and within 12 weeks they have to move on to the next module. It becomes all about moving on – that’s not education. There is no time for thinking or creativity or independent learning,” he said.

The MYP replaces traditional GCSE subjects with an overarching programme comprising eight areas of study. These include two languages (one involving literature), humanities (including history and geography), sciences (biology, chemistry and physics), maths, arts (visual and performing) PE and technology (including computer and design technology).

Schools are free to design their own courses in each subject, which are intended to get pupils to understand their own style of learning and to think about how their learning can contribute to society.

Dr Seldon, who has pioneered the development of “happiness” or emotional intelligence within the school system, said that he would be polling parents at his school, where annual boarding fees are about £27,000, in January. Early indications suggest that his plan will be approved.

Wellington College is not alone in losing faith in the GCSE. A growing number of independent schools are opting out of GCSEs in individual subjects in favour of the International GCSE exam (IGCSE), which they regard as more stretching. Like the MYP, the IGCSEs have no coursework or modules, just an exam at the end of the course.

At City of London boys’ school in London, David Levin, the head teacher, is planning to extend the number of IGCSEs from six to nine, covering all the main subjects, from next year.

“For clever boys, coursework is just like jumping through hoops, it’s not very interesting and reduces their contact time with teachers,” he said.

But he also expressed concerns that if private schools opt out of the GCSE, it could create further divisions between state and independent schools. “The worst case would be that we end up like South Africa, where the independent schools have formed their own exam board, so separation between the two sectors is complete,” he said. Fewer white teenagers want to stay at school beyond 16 or go to university than any other ethnic group, research has claimed. A survey of more than 14,000 pupils aged 14 in England found that white parents had lower ambitions for their children, and this appeared to influence their children’s aspirations.

The Centre for Market and Public Organisation, based at the University of Bristol, found that more than 90 per cent of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, black Caribbean and black African parents wanted their child to stay on in education, compared with 77 per cent of white families.

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