Exams shake-up as Gove calls halt to pupil ‘dumbing down’

The move will be the biggest reform of the examination system for school-leavers in a generation if details are as expected when they are unveiled tomorrow.

The plans include getting rid of modular assessment, reintroducing the traditional three-hour exam at the end of two years of study and limiting the number of top grades that are awarded, the paper said.

The new system would be introduced from September 2015, with the first of the new-style exams taking place in 2017.

There has also been speculation that in future there would only be one exam board provider per subject after Mr Gove said last week that competition had had “malign effects”.

The Department for Education would only say that an announcement would be made shortly.

The reforms have placed a major strain on coalition relations after Mr Gove’s plans to bring back O-levels were leaked in June before they had even been broached with Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Documents showed that the Tory Education Secretary wanted to replace GCSEs with O-levels in traditional academic subjects such as English, maths, the
humanities and science.

The changes would also see less able pupils taking simpler qualifications, similar to old-style CSEs, and the national curriculum for secondary schools abolished.

Teaching leaders have warned that such a move would see a return to “two-tier” schooling, writing off large swathes of the population, and the Lib Dems were infuriated by the idea.

Mr Clegg said neither he nor the Prime Minister, David Cameron, had been aware of the plans and indicated that they would not go ahead without Liberal Democrat support.

He said 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”.

After extensive discussions about the proposals, however, the Lib Dem leader is expected to join Mr Gove in a show of unity at the launch of a consultation on the reforms tomorrow.

Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg said it was wrong to be thinking about changing the system while the row over this year’s GCSE grades continued.

He told the BBC: “Politicians should not set an artificial limit on the number of top grades, rather the best work should be rewarded.

“New exams should ensure that young people are prepared for the world of work and the jobs of the future. However, it is not clear how this new system will ensure a breadth of knowledge and skills and that pupils continue studying English and maths until age 18.

“There has been no consultation on these plans, rather they have been drawn up in secret and leaked to select media outlets.”

The news of the proposed changes has received a mixed reaction from parents, students and teachers.

On one web forum, a teacher said the Government should be brave enough to leave the system alone. “We currently have a system which employers, teachers and parents understand. If adjustments to the system are needed, they should not be dictated by the nostalgic whims of a politician.”

One student claimed that GCSEs were not challenging, saying: “I can confirm that these exams are not remotely challenging if you have reasonable intelligence and are willing to learn the syllabus.”

Critics of the current exam system said GCSEs represented a “dumbing down” which had led to many school leavers having poor skills in English and maths.

Some critics of the Government have been angered by the apparent lack of consultation, with one forum commentator saying that radical changes should only be brought in after extensive thought, consultation and study.

He added: “In England they come in at the whim of whoever the Prime Minister puts in charge of Education to ride whatever hobby-horses he desires.”