Parents should know by the end of this school year whether the Isle of Man will follow major reform of the English exam system or go its own way.

Public meetings at local secondary schools have been held ahead of a consultation process to be launched on April 2.The options being considered are to follow the new GCSEs in England that have provoked controversy and been rejected by Northern Ireland and Wales, to switch to an International GCSE offered by Cambridge University or to adopt the Scottish examination system.

Paul Craine, the Department of Education's co-ordinating adviser for 11-19 education, said: 'At all four meetings, the quality of the questions asked was excellent. It was clear that the audiences were grappling with the key issues at the heart of the alternative ways forward and it was helpful to hear both their preferences and their concerns.'

The department says it plans to outline the direction that schools will follow before the end of the summer term.

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