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Nick Harvey MPStanding up for North Devon since 1992 |
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Gove's "O Levels"
June 28, 2012 10:41 AM
In North Devon Journal
In North Devon Journal
The news media all got very excited last week when an apparent "leak" from Michael Gove's office suggested that he wanted to bring back different qualifications for different pupils and get rid of GCSEs.
The announcement was not something that the Lib Dems had any part of and it is certainly not Government policy. It actually appears that it wasn't known outside of Michael Gove's private office and any changes to the education system will have to be subject to scrutiny across Government - not least from the Liberal Democrats.
That said, it is true that the education and exam system needs reform, and the Coalition has already done a lot - I have reflected on a number of measures including the Pupil Premium and changes to Special Educational Need provisions on several occasions through the pages of this newspaper - however this looks like a huge upheaval for modest gains. Extra "stretch" does not require getting rid of the whole qualifications system.
These Tory plans look like having too low an aspiration for many young people. We should be raising the bar for all children - not returning to the divisions of the 1950s. Liberal Democrats will not tolerate a two tier exam system that leaves some children behind before they even leave school, and starting their adult life with qualifications that are seen as second rate.
This is why we've supported the introduction of the English Baccalaureate, the end to modular GCSEs and the changes to ensure vocational qualifications are the proper equivalent of academic qualifications
Many teachers have already gone on the record to confirm that reforms on this scale would cause huge amount of turbulence in the system. We need to work closely with teachers and the sector to improve standards and implement the robust reforms already in place. Parents want higher standards in schools, not years of confusion and disruption that could distract from that goal.
We need to make sure that we constantly improve the exam system so that it's rigorous and stretching, but that we need to design an exam system for the future - one that rewards aspiration, effort and hard work for the thousands and thousands of children who do their best in schools so that it will always work for the many and not just for the few.
I want to see an exams system fit for the 21st Century. We should be raising the bar, not turning the clock back decades. There is no room in the education debate for elitism and there will be no return to two-tierism.
We will not allow anything that brings chaos, upheaval, confusion or disruption to the classroom or that damages aspiration.