The fall-out from the exams debacle during the pandemic lockdowns continues, with news that English students face stricter grading in their exams this year than students from devolved parts of the UK. Ofqual, England’s exam regulator, has decided to return to 2019 grading levels, but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s regulators won’t. It means that…
Tony Blair has a cheek by saying A Levels and GCSEs should be scrapped. He was responsible for eroding the standards in schools, so perhaps his latest foray into education policy is his plan to finish the job he began as Prime Minister? He should pipe down. The former PM wants exams replaced with assessments.…
There was a huge collective intake of breath in the teaching profession when news broke that a Grammar school student had hacked into a computer system and leaked exams and marking schemes. Bourne Grammar School in Lincolnshire said it had immediately launched an investigation into the incident after staff became aware of the hack. According…
The pandemic and lockdowns have had a massive impact on children’s education – and continue to do so with many students having time away from classes. For the most part schools have been back ‘properly’ this term and we can assess what needs to be done to help students catch up. Firstly, there needs to…
With girls again outperforming boys at GCSEs an academic has posed the question: “Why can’t we accept it is just that they are cleverer?” Professor Alan Smithers’ comment was not just a throw-away line; he had conducted research into this area and published a report on it. And for the most part, I would go…