Michael Gove today said he is making sweeping changes to GCSEs so that children from poorer families will have the same life chances as the rich.
The Education Secretary unveiled plans to radically overhaul the exams, scrapping coursework and bringing in a new grading system of eight to one rather than A* to G.
He said exams will get tougher, with pupils studying whole Shakespeare plays rather than short extracts, and all students will be expected to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Writing in The Times, Mr Gove said “children from poorer families should enjoy the same opportunities that the privileged and wealthy have bought for their sons and daughters”.
He added that children from wealthier homes have been “insulated” from the problems with current GCSEs because many pupils at private schools take international exams instead.
He warned that GCSEs have been undermined by the introduction of modular exams, which encourage “cram and forget” preparation, said coursework has corrupted the credibility of grades and the rise in A and A* grades had made it difficult to differentiate between the top achievers. He said: “For years our exam system has been designed to serve the interests of one group of adults: ministers. Under Labour, they boasted about ever increasing numbers of passes and took the credit for themselves. But children have been let down.”
Students taking maths and science will be faced with more demanding questions, history will be taught in chronological order and in geography students will be expected to have a much greater knowledge of the physical world.
Mr Gove said: “These reforms will undoubtedly make GCSEs more rigorous and demanding. But because our teachers, students and schools are all performing better than ever, we expect that the overwhelming majority of students will be increasingly able to clear this higher bar.”
Teenagers will begin studying for the new GCSEs from autumn 2015 and the first exams will be in 2017.Reuse content