Lucy Smith
Education, Examinations, Government, School, Statistics

Pause tests to allow primary school children to catch up

A collation of head teachers, parents and MPs are calling on Downing Street to pause SATs and all statutory assessments in primary school in England to provide children with adequate time to properly catch up on lost learning caused by school closures. The government’s plans to assess four and five-year-old children in their first few weeks of school from September should be postponed, according to a report from the More Than A Score campaign group. A YouGov survey of 2,012…

Lucy Smith
Education, Examinations, Government, School

A-levels and GCSEs to be delayed in 2021

The majority of A-level and GCSE exams in England will be delayed by three weeks next year due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has confirmed. The 2021 exams will go ahead, but the majority of tests will be pushed back to give pupils more time to catch up on their learning following school closures. In a written statement on Monday, Mr Williamson said: “I can confirm that GCSE, AS and A level exams in 2021 will…

Lucy Smith
Education, Examinations, Government, School, Statistics

Education committee chair calls for GCSEs to be scrapped

Chairman of the Education Select Committee has labelled GCSEs “pointless” and called for them to be scrapped in a radical overhaul of the English education system. Robert Halfon, Conservative MP for Harlow, believes education would benefit from replacing traditional Key Stage Four exams with a qualification that recognises academic and technical skills, alongside personal development. On Monday, Mr Halfon will address an audience of people from the education sector at the Cabinet War Rooms. He will tell them an emphasis…