[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21363396

Plans to scrap GCSEs in key subjects in England and replace them with an English Baccalaureate Certificate seem set to be abandoned by the government.

The major reversal is expected to be announced, alongside changes to the curriculum, in the Commons later.

Education Secretary Michael Gove had planned to bring in the baccalaureate certificate from autumn 2015.

Labour said it was a "humiliating climbdown" for Mr Gove and the NUT said it was "delighted" by his "U-turn".

I'm losing track of Conservative government reversals, U-turns and climbdowns, but I think this is the 43rd .....

[LemonJam]

Thank God for that.

[Nedusa]

The government's plan to scrap GCSEs in key subjects in England has been strongly criticised by MPs.

The Education Select Committee voiced concerns about the timetable for change, saying changing "too much, too fast" could threaten exam quality.

The cross-party committee has been examining plans to replace GCSEs with English Baccalaureate certificates.

The government said it was "making major changes to ensure we have world class exams that raise standards".

'Damaged brand'

The committee's report raises doubts about the pace and direction of the shake-up planned for GCSEs.

It said there were so many worries, it should act as a "red light" to the government.

The government says it wants to abolish GCSEs for core subjects and introduce English Baccalaureate certificates from 2015. There will also be only one exam board for each subject.

Education Select Committee chairman

But the committee said the government had failed to prove such a change was necessary.

It also raised concerns about introducing English Baccalaureate certificates in English, maths and science while still running "discredited" GCSEs for other subjects.

The committee's report said it agreed with many of the plans to overhaul GCSEs - such as moving exams to the end of a course and limiting the culture of excessive resits.

But it rejected the idea that GCSEs were such a "damaged brand" that they needed to be abolished.

The committee also questioned the "coherence" of introducing changes to GCSEs before deciding the accompanying national curriculum.

It called on the government to publish its plans for the secondary curriculum "as soon as possible".

"No sensible reform of assessment can take place without clarity as to what is to be taught. Coherence is not achieved by accident but by design," said Graham Stuart, the committee chairman and Conservative MP.

There are also strong concerns about the speed of so many proposed changes - and the pressures that it will place on the exam system.

The report pointed to the controversy of last summer's English GCSE results as an example of the "turbulence" that could be caused by changes to the exam system.

The timetable was "not merely challenging but so tight that it may risk endangering the quality", it said.

'Untenable'

The report said the government should consider Ofqual's recommendation that moving to a single exam board for each subject should be "decoupled" from the overhaul of qualifications.

The MPs urged caution when considering upheavals in exams.

"We recommend that the government takes time for careful consideration and slows down the pace of change," the committee's report concluded.

The report also highlighted the opposition of "stakeholders" in education to the reforms - and the responses from teachers' union reflected this hostility.

The National Union of Teachers' leader, Christine Blower, said the government's position on exam reform was "now surely untenable".

"The education secretary is totally isolated in his view that the English Baccalaureate certificates are a suitable measure to replace GCSEs," she said.

Chris Keates, of the NASUWT teachers union, accused the government of displaying "arrogant disregard for the impact on the lives of young people".

Labour leader Ed Miliband told ITV1's Daybreak programme there was "a groundswell against Michael Gove's plan" because he was "squeezing creativity out of the curriculum".

'Thorough overhaul'

He added: "Also he's not really focusing on those kids who maybe aren't going to go to university but need high quality vocational qualifications.

"That is what I'm talking about today. If you are a 14-year-old today you might know that you're going to do A-levels and then go to university, but what if you're going a different path? What if you're not academic? I think you or I would probably find it hard to say what young people will be doing at 18."

Dr Mary Bousted, head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "This is a devastating critique of the government's policy. Michael Gove will lack any credibility if his response is 'I know best; carry on.'

"The parliamentary committee now joins a long list of those who publicly oppose the plans."

But the Department for Education said the report accepted the need for major improvements.

"We have been clear that the secondary education system is in desperate need of a thorough overhaul - an objective with which the committee agrees," said an education department spokeswoman.

"That why we are making major changes to ensure we have world class exams that raise standards."

The above text was posted originally to highlight MP's condemnation of this plan to scrap GCSE's and replace them with a Baccalaureate for certain subjects.

Looks like the MP's have won the day on this one...!!!

[Nedusa]

It now looks like the reason this plan was scrapped was down to the EU as it breached their procurement regulations ?? This was then made aware to the coalition and the Lib Dems used this to put pressure on the Cons to scrap these proposals at this time.

More EU interfering...????

[EddyEagal]

I'm sure that GCSE's were being replaced by the old O levels. That's what my school told us all anyway

[Me. I Am Salman]

What about the A-Level changes? I can't even retake anything

[Omah]

Plans to scrap GCSEs in key subjects in England and replace them with English Baccalaureate Certificates are being abandoned by the government.

The reversal was announced by the education secretary in the Commons, alongside curriculum changes.

Michael Gove said plans for the new exams had been "a bridge too far".

He had wanted to bring in what he said were more rigorous exams in some core subjects from 2015, but faced criticism from MPs and teachers.

Labour's shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg told MPs the announcement was a "humiliating climb-down" and exam policy a "total shambles".

The change means plans for the new qualification, announced in September, are being shelved, while GCSEs are retained, despite having been previously condemned by the education secretary.

The reversal has refocused the spotlight on the future form of GCSEs .

Grade inflation

It comes after a damning report by the Commons education committee which said the changes would mean "too much, too fast" and could threaten exam quality.

The new English Baccalaureate Certificate was billed by the government as having a tougher syllabus, with exams at the end of the course in a return to an O-level style traditional qualification.

Mr Gove told MPs: "Last September we outlined plans for changes to GCSE qualifications designed to address the grade inflation, dumbing down and loss of rigour in those examinations.

"We have consulted on those proposals and there is now a consensus that the system needs to change.

"But one of the proposals I put forward was a bridge too far."

Specifically, he said that proposal had been to let just one exam board set a GCSE for each English Baccalaureate Certificate. The idea behind this was to stop what he had called a "race to the bottom" where he said exam boards might compete to offer easier qualifications.

However, he also re-stated his belief in changes already being made to GCSEs, where there has been a switch to exams being taken at the end of two years rather than in stages, fewer re-sits and a reduced role for coursework.

Liberal Democrats had opposed the introduction of the English Baccalaureate Certificate, believing they would bring in a two-tier system, which would damage teenagers who were not academic enough to pass the new exams.

A senior Whitehall source told the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson a range of factors conspired to bring an end to the plans, including opposition from the regulator and concerns that introducing a single exam board for each subject could be challenged in the courts under European Union rules.

Lib Dem sources indicated they regarded this as a coalition decision not a policy victory for their party, our correspondent added.

In the Commons, Labour's Stephen Twigg said: "It's simple really, before he announces a bright idea wouldn't it be sensible to check it first with the deputy prime minister".

'Red light'

The proposals for the new qualifications were met by intense criticism from teaching unions when they were first floated last June and then set out in detail in September.

The original plan had been for the first candidates to start courses in 2015 and take the new-look exams two years later, initially in three core subject areas - English, maths and sciences - with an extension later to history, geography and languages.

There was a plan to have one exam board for each subject.

Doubts had been raised about the feasibility of awarding the franchises for subjects within the timetable set for the new qualifications, which were to be taught from autumn 2015.

Exam regulator Ofqual had written to Mr Gove suggesting this should not go ahead at the same time as the other changes planned for GCSEs and A-levels.

Last week a report from the Commons Education Select Committee issued a "red light" warning to the government, urging it to slow down and rethink its proposed changes to GCSEs and the exam system.

The cross-party report warned the proposed changes were being rushed and risked damaging the exam system.

MPs' criticisms had been echoed by teachers and head teachers' unions.

In the Commons, Mr Gove also announced changes to the performance measures used in school league tables.

There will be a new eight-subject measure of GCSEs, including English and maths, three subjects out of sciences, languages, history and geography and three other subjects, such as art, music or RE.

This will in effect be a wider version of the English Baccalaureate measure, which some have criticised as being too narrow, although that measure will remain.

Russell Hobby, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the government had "slammed on the brakes just before the cliff face".

He said it would have been impossible to implement what had been planned.

The announcements on abandoning the new qualifications come alongside the publication of changes to the curriculum for primary and secondary schools.

Mr Gove has already set out principles arguing there should be a clear set of core information pupils should learn in areas such as maths, science, history and literature.

Programmes of study in almost all subjects except for primary English, maths and science have been slimmed down.

'Entirely wrong'

Earlier, Labour's shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is a humiliating climb-down for Michael Gove but more important than that it is really good news for education.

"The proposal risked turning the clock back to the kind of exam system that we had when I was at school that wrote a lot of young people off at 14 but it also crowded out a lot of very important parts of the curriculum."

The general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Christine Blower, said she was delighted Mr Gove had made a U-turn.

"We have amassed a very big coalition of our own around the fact that introducing the Ebacc was entirely the wrong thing to do, certainly in the kind of timescale that Mr Gove had in mind, so we think this is a very good move and we're very pleased."

[bbfan1991]

Great news.

[Marcus.]

good to hear

[reece(:]

Originally Posted by Salman!

What about the A-Level changes? I can't even retake anything

I'm so pissed off about this, it's really unfair that some people are allowed to and now we can't.

[Harry!]

This is great news, Mr Gove is doing a terrible job with the education system. The old methods are oudated and the current GCSE and A-Levels allow students who could not do as well in the past achieve the best that they possibly can be.

[Niall]

I'm very pleased to see this proposal fail miserably. Like the articles highlighted, it would just create a two-tier system. There was no room for more vocational qualifications that the GCSE can offer and that's just horribly unequal.

I do kinda agree about having one exam board though. Having multiple versions of the same paper is just silly? There should be a centralised, government run exam board that operates under the Department/Ministry (I can't remember which it is) of Education. I mean I sat the AQA version of the AS Level Psychology exam and the whole thing felt like a science paper in the way it was done. One of my friends however, is sitting the same exam but her one is administered by a different exam board (WJEC), and her paper is completely different in that the whole thing is completely essay focused. It's absurd. I don't understand how the same qualification in one topic can be awarded to pupils like that if we all learn different skills as per what the exam requires.