The future is in safe hands

The Brexit headache, that this week has seen plans for a disastrous ‘no deal’ exit doing the rounds, suggests greater minds than those currently in government will be required to sort out this mess in the future.

Thankfully, that future appears to be in safe hands.

If you thought the A-level results of last week were impressive, they have nothing on the GCSEs.

Had the pass rate dipped, few would have been surprised.

This year’s GCSEs were meant to be the toughest yet.

For the first time most of the GCSEs were being graded using the more exacting 9 to 1 grading system.

Coursework, once again, was not being brought into the results equation, making it tougher on the students.

On top of that, many key subjects were designed to be more difficult (or challenging) to stretch the candidates. The bar had been raised; the younger generation rose higher.

As we reveal today, there was an increase in the overall proportion of pupils reaching pass levels.

And in an unexpected boost, boys across the board showed improvement in top marks, closing the gap on the girls.

The aim of making the exams harder is to lift the nation’s education levels to hopefully challenge highachieving countries like Singapore and Finland.

On this evidence, despite some considerable hostility directed at the Government for ‘meddling’ with the exam structure, the reforms appear to have reaped rewards.

Whether the younger generation can help the nation atone for the mistakes of the past only time will tell.

But today, they should be the ones taking all the plaudits. Well done.