Date: 22/04/21
By Alan Hardie, CEO at NCEAT.

I can’t imagine many people would argue that having good subject knowledge isn’t important, or that achieving the best possible qualifications in English and Maths aren’t essential for success after school. However, I would argue that the current system of examinations and the expectations for school performance tables and inspections is very narrow in its focus, leading to vocational qualifications often being seen as the poor relations to the ‘academic’ ones.

There is too much emphasis on a small range of subjects favoured by the government and too much resting on ‘all or nothing’ final exams, which require pupils to recall a huge amount of subject knowledge. It feels like we are stuck with a model from 19th Century schools in the 21st Century. What is missing are more opportunities for practical learning and assessment throughout a course, not just at the end. Many universities get this and use this as the assessment model for degrees. I think that the current systems forced upon schools means we are missing an opportunity. We need change and that can only come if enough of us agree and make our voices heard.

Firstly we need to return to a system where much more of the assessment for the final grade happens throughout a course. An exam can still take place at the end of the course but shorter tests, project work and practical assessments over a two year period would take away a lot of the stress for pupils, who are often faced with two exams per day for a number of weeks at the end of Year 11. Changing from this would also give pupils the chance to build up a portfolio of evidence about their success in a subject.

Secondly, we need a system that gives much more flexibility with the curriculum and creates a parity of esteem for vocational subjects. This would mean that pupils would have much more choice in their options and schools wouldn’t be punished in the performance tables for allowing more pupils to take vocational courses, whether these are GCSEs or an alternative such as BTECs. Having a common or at least more easily comparable grading system would also help here.

Finally, there needs to be reform to English and Maths qualifications, with a greater focus on an initial functional qualification in each, which can then be built upon with further qualifications. This would allow pupils to master and demonstrate their competence in communications and numeracy before moving on.

I once had a group of pupils who were going to be forced to take GCSE Geography because of the school’s curriculum model. They were a challenging group, so I spent some time talking to the pupils and their parents about what they really wanted to learn about; it turned out that most had an interest in careers in leisure. We agreed to offer these pupils the option of a vocational GCSE in Leisure and Tourism instead. I then worked with a range of employers such as EasyJet, Marriott Hotels, local leisure centres and English Heritage to provide a course full of practical experiences.

The class worked incredibly hard for the two years of the course. As two thirds of the assessment was through portfolios, they each built up files of evidence of their practical skills and knowledge. Work experience and practical sessions were a key part of this. They organised their own events to show skills such as managing a budget, event planning, marketing and customer service. Many of my colleagues couldn’t believe that a group of pupils, most of whom had previously been in a lot of trouble at school, could take on so much responsibility. The answer was to give them an option which they enjoyed, focused on their practical skills and helped them towards their career aspirations.

All of that group passed their GCSE with at least C grades, for many of them, this was the best grade achieved in any subject. Almost all of them went on to work, apprenticeships or further study related to leisure and tourism, including working in five-star hotel and for airlines. The success of these pupils convinced me that we can get the best out of all of our pupils if we can offer them an appropriate curriculum and assessment system which recognises a wider range of skills and applied knowledge rather than largely testing the recall of knowledge.

Getting this to replace our current system will only happen if enough people are willing to come together and support the case for change. This brings us back to the original question; what do we want for our children from our education system? If football supporters can bring down the proposed European Super League in 48 hours then why can’t we raise our voices to challenge the current system?