Teachers call for GCSE’s and A-level exams to be replaced

GCSEs and A-levels should be replaced with alternative assessments in the long term, teachers have said. School staff now have a ‘golden opportunity’ to stop ‘toxic testing’ amid growing calls to reform the national assessments, the National Education Union’s (NEU) virtual annual conference heard. A motion passed at the conference called for GCSEs and A-levels … Read more

Teaching union demands GCSEs must be ABOLISHED amid fears of a ‘Wild West’ of grade inflation

Britain’s largest teaching union has demanded GCSEs are abolished amid fears of a ‘Wild West’ of rampant grade inflation this summer. The National Education Union said there is a growing movement to challenge the status quo among Tory MPs and other powerful groups. It asked whether there was any function for the tests when pupils … Read more

Gavin Williamson categorically rules out ditching GCSEs

Gavin Williamson categorically rules out ditching GCSEs as he says exams at 16 ‘are going to be there for an awful lot longer’ as he warns Covid has caused the ‘single greatest disruption to our education system since the Second World War’ Gavin Williamson told unions ‘we are absolutely going to be keeping GCSEs’ Some … Read more

GCSEs and A-levels are likely to be easier in 2022 to help children after lessons were disrupted

Now next year’s exams will be watered down: GCSEs and A-levels are likely to be easier in 2022 to help children after lessons were disrupted by Covid pandemic Ofqual boss Simon Lebus told MPs there need to be ‘adaptations’ to 2022 exams Mr Lebus said the process of recovering lost learning would take several years   … Read more

JOHN HUMPRHYS: Scrap GCSEs for this year? No, we should scrap them FOR EVER 

Never let a good crisis go to waste. It was Winston Churchill who made that saying famous. He was speaking in 1940 when the future of the nation was at stake. Even Covid can’t compete with that. But what we do face today is a crisis in education and, no, it has not been created … Read more

Gavin Williamson’s plan for A-Levels and GCSEs ‘will be wide open to abuse’

How will Gavin Williamson’s GCSE and A-Level plan actually work? Gavin Williamson today unveiled his plan for awarding GCSE and A-Level grades this summer after exams were cancelled because of the pandemic. The Education Secretary is putting the power in teachers’ hands to award grades.  They will be able to draw on a range of … Read more

What will replace GCSEs and A-levels and will the system be fair?

What will replace GCSEs and A-levels and will the system be fair? As Government plans to hand teachers control over this year’s exam grades, we answer the important questions By Josh White Education Reporter For The Daily Mail Published: 01:24 GMT, 25 February 2021 | Updated: 01:35 GMT, 25 February 2021 What’s going on? Since … Read more

Pupils could take ‘mini-exams’ to be marked by teachers instead of formal A-Levels and GCSEs

School students taking their GCSE and A-levels could be asked to take ‘mini-exams’ to help determine their grades, according to reports. Exam boards could write the slimmed down papers, which students will take at the request of their teachers. The papers would be marked by teachers and would be used to help them to inform … Read more

Should GCSEs ever come back after pandemic?

Two new schools will challenge the practise of pupils sitting exams at age 16.   Former Downing Street aide to Tony Blair, Peter Hyman, along with brothers Ben and Tobyn Thomas, who own Thomas’s Battersea where Prince George and Princess Charlotte are pupils, are backing a campaign to scrap GCSE exams. They will be opening secondary … Read more

GCSEs should be scrapped next year and replaced with school-based assessments, leading head says 

GCSE exams should be replaced by school-based assessments next year amid coronavirus disruption, Portsmouth High School GDST headmistress Jane Prescott said GCSE exams should be replaced by school-based assessments next year amid coronavirus disruption, a leading headteacher has said. Changes could also be made to A-level exams so there is less content or fewer papers … Read more