Schools may be on holiday in August, but education certainly dominates the headlines in the second half of the month. It’s that time again, time for the press and broadcasters to feature examination results and floor targets and league tables and public debates about the reliability of grading.
For pupils finishing year 11 in 2014, there will be no more modular GCSEs, rather all pupils will have to sit final examinations in the summer of 2014.
The resulting lack of opportunities to re-sit modules or to take the examination in “bite-size” pieces may well lead to a lower proportion of grades A* to C. The secretary of state has also mentioned a return to O levels, but these were only ever designed for the top 20 per cent of an age cohort and at the moment all secondary schools are expected to ensure that 40 per cent of their pupils achieve five A* to C grades at GCSE.
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