Return of the O-Level: Gove shake-up is biggest revolution in education for 30 years

[Shar]

I agree with making certain sciences harder and even maths a bit harder as they are quite harder at A level but I don't think humanities/social sciences are as hard

[Mathew]

I agree with making certain sciences harder and even maths a bit harder as they are quite harder at A level but I don't think humanities/social sciences are as hard

Oh, you went there. Woooooooooow! Nah, I only did English Language at GCSE and it's a big step up from there, so I can't really judge the other two!

[Shar]

Oh, you went there. Woooooooooow! Nah, I only did English Language at GCSE and it's a big step up from there, so I can't really judge the other two!

I did RS at GCSE and that was so easy, it was the only A I got and history was the other humanity I did and I got a B in that. I went on to do both at AS and they really weren't as hard as any of the science subjects or maths in comparison.

I think the main problem with examinations is that some people don't try as hard as others. I can honestly say that I didn't try as hard when I did my GCSEs compared to my A levels and I'm sure others would agree, but people can't be forced to study, its their own choice.

[Ardemax]

I'm sure Gove would just like a system where only the rich kids can sit the exams and all the poor kids have to do BTECs. Or something.

Luckily this won't affect me as I finish my exams on Monday

[dbgtz]

It's simple to say "make it harder" but with some of the poor teaching in my old school (for some subjects) and the amount of forced subjects we had to do, I can imagine many people failing unfairly.

[Ajthedragon]

Rather than scrapping GCSE's which is extremely expensive, why not have one universal exam board for each subject? This would prevent exam boards competing with each other on the basis of offering easier exams. GCSEs should be harder and more relevant to A-levels though, as I felt totally unprepared for AS having gone from the odd 8 mark question to 40 mark ones.

Plus I hope the possible changes won't devalue my current GCSEs and AS levels.

[kuzkasate]

I agree they need changing, but what I don't agree on is with the introduction of O-levels, pupils will basically be told they're going to be successful in life, or they're going to fail in life.

[FlyingJesus]

why not have one universal exam board for each subject?

That is one of the proposed changes, and makes sense but is oddly supplemented with removing the standardised National Curriculum... so everyone will sit the same exam but depending on what school you go to you might not have actually been taught anything that'll be on it. Very strange

I agree they need changing, but what I don't agree on is with the introduction of O-levels, pupils will basically be told they're going to be successful in life, or they're going to fail in life.

No it just tells people whether they have a future in academics or not. Not everyone is capable of the same things and the pretence that absolutely everyone should be able to get academic qualifications has led to a flooding of all markets with diplomas and degrees that now mean very little

[GommeInc]

Different names, still the same old crappy educational system. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. It could completely destroy the quality of education for some people while being worthwhile for others or be very fruitful and boost the quality of the education here. Either way, something has to change.

[-:Undertaker:-]

It appears to be a right move but it is simply what this unconservative government did with the 'bonfire of the quangos' - abolish, retain all staff and then rename the quango making no difference other than serving the purpose of making Conservative Party supporters feel as though the government was doing conservative things, which it isn't. The same appears to be happening to the exams (as it always has done) - education problems will not be solved in this country until the grammar schools are brought back in place of the comprehensives. The politicians of the Lib/Lab/Con agree with me on this, hence why many of them (Diane Abbott, Harriet Harman, Nicholas Clegg, Anthony Blair, David Miliband, David Cameron etc) all send their children to either religious schools/grammar schools or comprehensives of which you can only get into if you are very wealthy (making them private schools in all but name).

But you know, i'm just going to say it and be shameless because they've been right on so many things lately and it's high time people started paying attention - education in this country won't improve until you vote in somebody who will restore the grammar schools, ie UKIP.

I'd also add for anybody who wants to read it, Peter Hitchens' accurate take on this http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co....ng-includ.html