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Plan to ditch 'dumbed down' GCSEs continues to divide





The education secretary Michael Gove launched a fresh attack on GCSEs this week at a London conference following a leaked report which highlighted plans to scrap the qualification and shake up a “discredited” curriculum.
Headteachers, teachers and union figures in the district told the Government to stop meddling with children’s futures last week and said a return to the two-tier system of the 1950s could increase elitism.
A former teacher at the Hurst School in Baghurst, Robin Strapp, said the changes would widen a growing social mobility gap and would cause untold disruption in the lives of young people.
However this week another teacher in West Berkshire, Katharine Matheson, from Brightwalton has praised the plan and said change is badly needed.
“Mr Strapp thinks that what the education system needs is ‘stability and continuity’. No doubt that makes life easier for teachers and is all very well if the system is in good shape, but it isn’t. A very large number of children leave school with no qualifications whatsoever.
“We don’t want continuity in the system that has sent them out into the world without such basic skills. We badly need change.
There is nothing more demoralising than being taught a syllabus which you struggle to understand and taking exams where it is not possible for you to get the highest marks, however hard you work.
“As someone who has taught for 26 years, I am aware of the enormous breath of abilities. A recognition of this should not be dismissed as elitist and should help rather than hinder the creation of an environment suitable for each child which allows him or her to maximise his or her potential.”
The headteacher of the Downs School in Compton, Val Houldey, said the speed at which the educational terrain was changing - Key Stage alterations are planned for September - made it tough to maintain high standards.
“These constant changes contribute to teachers’ workload negatively. Generally, it is after the second or third iteration of teaching a course that the quality becomes consistently excellent because teachers are confident with the course and its detail. Numerous changes make this very difficult to achieve,” she said.
Mrs Houldey echoed her counterparts at some of the districts other big schools, Kennet School, Thatcham and Theale Green Community School, by stating that such upheaval must not be rushed through.
“Although not averse to change, what we really need is a period of relative stability to focus on quality so we can deliver the kind of education the country requires thereby ensuring all our students can reach their full potential,” she said.
Have your say on GCSEs and O-levels by emailing mark.taylor@newburynews.co.uk or telephoning (01635) 564532.



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