End to GCSEs and A Levels proposed

Wednesday, 16 July 2003 12:00 AM

Education for 14-19 year olds could be facing a major overhaul which would see GCSEs and A Levels being replaced by a single baccalaureate style diploma.

A report to be published by Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools is expected to call for less exams and a more vocational course of study. Mr Tomlinson has been heading up the 14-19 working group, set up by the DfES to look into reform of the qualifications framework; they will report their findings this week and are expected to recommend a three tier structure of diplomas.

The diplomas will be more vocational and will mean that students study more subjects until they are 18 or 19, with some subjects such as maths and English being compulsory.

After a period of consultation the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is expected to work with the examination boards to draw up new syllabuses, based on many of the existing modular courses for GCSE and A level. It is thought that pupils will be able to receive credits for a wide range of activities from playing an instrument to sport.

The general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, David Hart, said that qualifications needed to be reformed to make them more relevant to the needs of industry.

'At last we have the prospect of an over-arching diploma that properly recognises all qualifications and all levels of achievement,' he commented.

Outlining his proposals this morning, Mr Tomlinson stated: 'What I'm proposing to consult on is the idea that young people gain a diploma at one of four levels depending upon the progress they make and also the standard that they're able to achieve'.

'And that that diploma contains a number of components which will continue post-16 to include the specialist study that many do now through A levels or through a particular vocational route'.

According to Mr. Tomlinson, this would give employers information about the standards achieved, not only in the student's specialist subject, but also whether or not they had reached an appropriate standard in the key skills of literacy, numeracy and use of IT.

'It might also tell the employer a lot about the individual's other work that is not examined, whether that is voluntary service or anything of that description,' he told BBC Radio Four's 'Today' programme.

This would, he believed, give a 'more rounded picture' of achievements than the current A level qualifications, which he felt gave too little information to employers and was also difficult to understand.

As to whether this would mean the opportunity to achieve a 'gold standard' in certain subjects would be lost, Mr. Tomlinson thought this could still be possible with the new diploma.

'No-one makes that accusation against the International Baccaleureate or indeed the European Baccalaureate; they still are regarded as having high demand in the specialist areas,' he noted.

And he stressed that his proposals did not mean that GCSEs would necessarily disappear altogether.

'What we are saying in the consultation is that the diploma would be the qualification,' he said. 'Therefore there would be no free-standing qualification within it:'

'But what is currently studied as GCSE or A level may well be a component of the baccaleureate, examined appropriately and in some way, shape or form graded'.

'But what you wouldn't have is simply a number of free-standing qualifications.'

He confirmed that the introduction of any such new diploma would be a 'gradual process', possibly over a period of five to ten years and that the children likely to be affected would be those now in the very early stages of primary education.

However there are concerns that the new proposals could mean that some students leave school with no qualifications at all. Phil Willis the Liberal Democrat education spokesman commented: 'The proposals do not make clear how assessment would take place, how quality can be guaranteed, and what students would receive if leaving the system before 19'.

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