Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, hascongratulated schools on their achievements but says there are “continuing problems of an examination system which is in several ways not fit for purpose.”
He says changes to the curriculum have been introduced too quickly, and that schools have been juggling a new curriculum at AS-level with old syllabuses for year 13 students. He added:
While results nationally may have remained in line with those in the previous year, the result of awarding bodies being required to adopt a ‘comparative outcomes’ approach will mean some schools and colleges may see considerable variation. This reflects teachers’ level of discomfort about the speed in which the new specification has been introduced.
Secondly, we are once again seeing a continuation of the gradual trend towards the more traditional academic subjects required by the Russell universities. This will be reinforced by the new EBacc requirements at GCSE. It means that more young people are choosing to study subjects considered to be of ‘higher value’ rather than those in which they may be more interested. Problems with teacher recruitment are probably a significant reason for the fall in modern foreign languages. In a modern world this should be of concern to all.
Courtney said that young people need a greater range of opportunities for apprenticeships, and called for the re-introduction of maintenance grants.
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