Students at a Bradford school will be among the first state pupils in the country to sit an Intern-ational GCSE (IGCSE).

The Sports College and Foundation School in Leaven-thorpe Lane, Thornton, is pioneering the qualification this year which has found growing popularity in the independent sector.

A total of 30 students from year nine will sit the IGCSE in First Language English this year - two years early - and 12 from year 11 are being entered in addition to their two other English GCSEs in Literature and Language. Another student will be entering the exam as his sole English qualification.

The Year 11 students, who will be taught the IGCSE after school, are believed to be among the first in the country to sit three English GCSEs this year. Thornton Grammar English teacher Tim Kearns said the decision to introduce the qualification was taken for two reasons.

"The skills tested on the core IGCSE paper - reading and directed writing - are not dissimilar to those tested in the Key Stage Three SAT (Standard Assessment Test) for English," he said.

"It is therefore conceivable that higher-ability students can be prepared for both examinations simultaneously without finding themselves at a disadvantage. Lower down the ability groups it is often the case that coursework-heavy qualifications such as AQA English and Literature unfairly penalise students in possession of key skills at GCSE."

IGCSEs were designed as a secondary school qualification for pupils overseas and are now being adopted by independent schools in the United Kingdom, in preference to the standard GCSE.

The Department for Education and Skills has refused to recognise the IGCSE because it was developed for schools outside the UK. This means pass rates cannot be included as part of school league tables

Mr Kearns said: "The difference between the IGCSE the standard GSCE is what it actually tests. The IGCSE tests skills versus knowledge whereas the standard GCSE tests knowledge and information retention.