‘Broader and better Bacc’ call by head of academy

A YORKSHIRE headteacher is leading a national campaign for the new English Baccalaureate to be replaced with “something broader and better.”

Andrew Chubb, principal of the Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull, has warned that the new measure brought in by the Government last year will create “an educational Berlin Wall” which divides the country’s schools.

He is now leading a campaign to “build a better baccalaureate” which has won support of organisations including the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Governors’ Association and the Curriculum Foundation.

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The English Baccalaureate is being awarded to pupils who achieve GCSE passes in English, maths, two sciences, a humanity and a modern language.

When the plan was announced by Education Secretary Michael Gove it was hailed as a way of promoting the study of sciences and languages at GCSE and beyond. Mr Chubb believes, however, that the subjects chosen only give schools “a narrow focus” to treat as priorities.

He also warned that schools which have tailored their curriculum for pupils who want vocational courses will be left in a “difficult position.”

He said: “My concern is that the English Baccalaureate will result in an educational Berlin Wall where those pupils at schools which focus on the subjects included in it are seen as superior to those schools which don’t.”

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He is questioning why arts and music have not been included in the baccalaureate and why Religious Education (RE) does not count towards it.

Mr Chubb said: “The English Baccalaureate is not a new qualification but a badge awarded to people who achieve passes in certain GCSE subjects.

“I do not think the English Baccalaureate gives pupils a broader education because it is a narrow metric which will be used to measure schools.

“This campaign to build a better bacc is not anti-Government but pro-student. We want to work with the Government to build a better qualification.”

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Mr Chubb said he wanted a new baccalaureate qualification to include an extended project element, similar to that used in the International Baccalaureate which some schools offer as an alternative to A-levels.

Including this at GCSE level would, he argues, help to promote independent learning among pupils, benefiting them as they enter further and higher education. He has also called for a focus on enterprise skills.

The idea for a campaign calling for a replacement qualification started last month when Mr Chubb decided to launch a blog voicing his fears about the English Baccalaureate.

In his opening post he said: “Archbishop Sentamu Academy deplores the narrow focus of the proposed English Baccalaureate. This reform has been rushed through, not thought through.

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“It is a straitjacket that will constrain student potential, rather than a structure which will promote broad achievement.”

His blog also includes a series of alternative baccalaureates which his school was considering awarding to pupils.

To achieve these student would need GCSE passes in core subjects including English, maths and a humanity – including the option of RE.

But it also would allow science Btecs to be included and pupils would be expected to get enterprise and ICT qualifications.

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Pupils could then take two additional subjects on top of the core areas to allow them to get a qualification which focused on a specialist area such as science, literature, sport, health, the arts, business or technology.