The school was among the first in the UK to adopt the International Mathematics GCSE. Soon afterwards, MGS also adopted the three Sciences and today it offers the IGCSE in most subjects. The main difference between IGCSE and GCSE is that the IGCSE does not have a compulsory coursework element, primarily because it would be too costly to moderate around the world. The maths and science departments decided that pupils were finding the coursework (which forms a fifth of the marks awarded in the national GCSE) undemanding and tedious and so made the switch in 2005. In 2009 the GCSE was replaced by the IGCSE in most subjects (see below). At the same time the school began to offer additional GCSEs in Electronics and Mandarin Chinese, as well as Economics at A Level.