When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, he famously said that his government’s priority would be ‘education, education, education.’ But what kind of education did he mean? The answer was simple: a university education. His target was to send half the nation’s students to university – and it’s been achieved. But what did Tony…
An imminent U-turn by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson might well see exams re-instated this year. In a letter to the chief regulator, Williamson said he would like to ‘explore the possibility of providing externally set tasks or papers’. I said at the time of cancellation that it was a decision made too early and that…
Exams are the best and fairest way to judge a child’s progress – so cancelling them in Scotland next year will do major harm. The Higher and Advanced Higher exams – the equivalent of A-Levels – will not go ahead, and neither will the National 5 exams – the equivalent of GCSEs. Instead, results will…
To hear that children attending Edgar Stammers Primary Academy in Walsall were forced to eat meals with their hands made my eyes roll. The school banned knives and forks – and even plates – because of Covid and the fear of spreading the virus. While it seems bizarre that staff couldn’t find a way of…
The decision by the Welsh Assembly to do away with exams next year is foolhardy and will store up major problems. There is a faction in progressive educational circles that want to axe exams, and the pandemic has given them the perfect opportunity to kick-start the process. But exams, while not perfect, are by far…