Changes to GCSEs are long overdue
ANY change to education brings uncertainty, but changes to our 14 to 16 qualifications are long overdue.
Pupils taking GCSEs in Wales collect an average of 13 of these qualifications, according to the exam regulator. Do these stacks of exams genuinely prepare them for A-level courses, apprenticeships, jobs or other training they go on to?
Some of them undoubtedly do, but there has been debate about the need to overhaul others for years.
IT and technology courses and qualifications are among those badly in need of reform and updating.
Replacing the three separate science GCSEs with one exam combing them is a bold move.
On one hand it could encourage learners to continue with more science than they would have done beyond 14. It’s a crowded curriculum and many choices mean there is a danger that education becomes too narrow.
Teenagers should not be forced to choose between the arts and sciences and languages at too young an age. We need our young people to have a broad education.
On the other hand there is a risk that having just the one science GCSE could dumb down the curriculum and not serve the highest science achievers well.
As the Royal Society of Chemistry has warned a single GCSE science would need to present a clear identity for the core sciences, that supports progression to the next stage.
This is true of every subject, old and new in the proposals to revolutionise GCSEs to correspond with Wales’ new curriculum.
The regulator has one more year to consult on the proposals before planning the new exams which will be taught from 2025 and taken from 2027.
That may seem a long way away but in the school calendar that is not so far off.
Pupils, their parents, teachers and school leaders will need clarity well ahead of the changes coming in.
Education is about more than just gaining qualifications. It is about learning to love learning for its own sake.
All learners must want to be in school and not feel they are less important than anyone else.
Science, maths and literacy are crucial for a skilled workforce. Arts, technology and health are also vital. Those changing our GCSEs must ensure they don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.