Yes GCSE O levels and CSE's but the high school didn't offer me any O levels to take, just CSE's. The crazy thing was the middle school I was at had three streams in the last year, and I was in the highest stream too.
My Dad just said **** that, and hence I went private from 13-18.
This is exactly what happened to me, yes I too have experienced state and private education Was at the local secondary modern, suffered from a lot of bullying as I was not the most self assured child, (still like that a bit I feel) and when it came time to decide what O levels, or CSE's you would sit, they only put me down for CSE's, parents were not impressed, and as my grandfather had recently passed, and left them some money, they decided to get me out of there. I went to a very small boarding school, and at first hated it, but soon grew to love it, unfortunately the school went bust just before my O Level year, this meant another move, this time to a local Grammar which also took boarders, and I really did hate that place. As they used a different syllabus I was put down a year, and only managed to pass a couple of O Levels. I was then shipped off to the local college to try and recover some ground, and I did manage to attain a couple more. I still ended up doing what I always wanted, which was to follow my father into agriculture, so academic qualifications were never something I placed great store by, and am a much more practical, than academic person.