 |
| Education Secretary Michael Gove |
The changes, which apply only to England, are designed to introduce more academic rigour to exams for 15 and 16-year-olds amid concerns about falling standards and dumbing down since the introduction of GCSEs in the late 1980s. That will mean an end to modular and rolling assessments and a stronger emphasis on the more traditional exam at the end of two years of study. There will also be a limit to the proportion of top grades that are awarded after years of ever-rising numbers of As and A*s.
However, after vociferous protests from Liberal Democrats including Mr Clegg there will be no return to the two-tier system of qualifications that pre-dated GCSEs, when the academically talented took O-levels and the rest sat CSEs. Additionally, the proposed implementation of the reforms has been pushed back until autumn 2015, after the next general election, meaning an incoming Labour government could potentially repeal the changes before they were implemented. Labour has not as yet indicated that it will oppose the plans, although it criticised the timing and the leaking of details to the press.
The issue has strained coalition relations after Mr Gove's plans for a return to an O-level-style exam system were leaked in June without the foreknowledge of either Prime Minister David Cameron or Mr Clegg. The Lib Dems responded furiously to the leak, the Deputy Prime Minister saying at the time he was against "anything that would lead to a two-tier system where children at quite a young age are somehow cast on a scrapheap". It is understood that Mr Gove and Mr Clegg have worked closely together over the summer to find common ground. A source said it had been a "really good coalition process" and that the end result would "raise the bar without shutting the door".
Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Stephen Twigg MP, commenting on the Government's plans to abolish GCSEs said: "The problem with these changes are they are totally out of date, from a Tory-led Government totally out of touch with modern Britain. Whatever the reassurances, this risks a return to a two-tier system which left thousands of children on the scrap heap at the age of 16. Why else are the changes being delayed until 2017? Schools do need to change as all children stay on in education to 18 and we face up to the challenges of the 21st Century. We won't achieve that with a return to the 1980s. Instead, we need a system that promotes rigour and breadth, and prepares young people for the challenges of the modern economy.”
Mr Gove is also under fire today from one of his Conservative predecessors as Education Secretary for failing to be radical enough. Lord Kenneth Baker, who as Education Secretary in the Thatcher government in the late 80s was the architect of much of the current education system. He believes there is no longer any need for a national exam at 16 as the vast majority of young people now stay on in education or training until 18. Instead, he believes pupils should be tested at 14 to help guide them on the subject choices they must then make. "It's vital that schools and colleges provide education which develops practical skills and personal qualities as well as subject knowledge," he said. "This has to include opportunities to learn by doing."
Mr Gove will be making his full announcement on exam reforms at 15:30 BST in the House of Commons today.
