Must do better: GCSE dumped for Baccalaureate

Coursework and resits are to be cut in favour of end-of-course exams in the traditional subjects, according to the education secretary Michael Gove.
From 2015 thousands of teenagers across West Berkshire will begin sitting the new-style English Baccalaureate Certificates, with the first exams taking place in 2017.
Under the new system, a full English Baccalaureate will be awarded if students pas six core subjects: English, maths, two sciences – from physics, biology and chemistry; a language, and geography or history.
It signals an inglorious end to the much-maligned GCSE following uproar in schools across West Berkshire regarding unbalanced marking in English which headteachers said jeopardised the future’s of thousands of young people.
Education figures in West Berkshire have given a cautious welcome, but have warned of the dangers of leaving children with less academic ability behind.
The headteacher of the Willink School, in Burghfield, Peter Fry, was recently appointed the West Berkshire Branch Secretary for the Association of School and College Leaders, and he said everything would be done to ensure students reached the highest standards regardless of which exam they sat.
“As well as being rigorous, the proposed English Baccalaureate Certificates must be fair and consistent and not put a cap the number of young people who can succeed if they meet clear criteria,” he said.
“As this is a once in a generation reform and will affect the lives of millions of young people and our economic future, it is absolutely right to defer the start to 2015 to enable everyone affected, including parents and professionals, to have an input and time to pilot the new exams.
“We saw with the English GCSE this summer how students are penalised when change is introduced with insufficient planning.”
The headteacher of Kennet School in Thatcham, Paul Dick, said he felt the change was timely but it was important that lesser able pupils were not left behind in a system geared up to cater for the more advanced.
“It is all very well to say that all abilities will have access to the higher levels of achievement, but when the reality is that some of them cannot cope with those concepts, how real are these new opportunities going to be?” he said.
“There is a suggestion there might be optional questions within a paper which would effectively mean maintaining some sort of divide between the more able and the less able.
“We understand that GCSEs in other subjects (History, Geography, etc,) will continue for some years. Again, this is all very well, but is the Government remembering that the pupil is subject to a number of different regimes at the same time?
“How pupil friendly will this be? We are sowing seeds for confusion amongst the pupil ranks and indeed families and employers too.”
A wider discussion of the curriculum is needed, according to Park House headteacher Derek Peaple, who said more details of the new proposals were needed.
“The structure and nature of assessment must surely reflect those changing demands and not run counter to them through outdated or uncoordinated approaches,” he said.
“Secondly, GCSEs will continue to be the exams sat by all students except those who have just started school in Year 7 and schools will remain fully focussed on ensuring that these students are supported to achieve their full potential.”
The headteacher of Theale Green Community School, Theale, Sue Marshall, added: “We welcome any changes to examination systems that improve standards for students and I hope that the Government will work in close partnership with educationalists to ensure any reforms are based on a sound understanding of how students learn best.”