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hiya, my name is Louise and i am 16, nearly 17 years old and am currently studying my AS levels, these are Business, Health and social care and Law, however health and social care and law are both BTEC courses. i feel that i am....... Read More- Need help with finding an apprenticeship please! im stuck!
Hi there Im 18 I am looking for a higher apprenticeship involving Science and Maths. I have completed AS textiles which I got a grade B I am currently take my A2 biology, AS chemistry and AS maths. AS maths I am predicted A and AS....... Read More - Would like to do an apprenticeship but have a degree!
Hey NGTU! I'm in a strange position, I wasn't aware of apprenticeships when I was looking at what to do after school so I went uni and studied a course for enjoyments sake. So now I have a degree but it is not in an area that I....... Read More - Unsure of what do do
Hello, My name is Nathan/Nathaniel, and I've been interested in the idea of an apprenticeship since i've left school (2011) However, I instead went to three different colleges and ended up leaving because of different reasons - not....... Read More
News
Gove's O-level plan sparks coalition row
2012-06-22 15:01:38
Education secretary Michael Gove's leaked proposals for a higher standard of education, including the scrapping of GCSEs after nearly thirty years, were today at the centre of a row within the coalition government.
Axing GCSEs, said Mr Gove, and returning to O-level style examinations would give England an education system on a par with the most rigorous in the world.
"Children," he says, "are working harder than ever but we are hearing that the system is not working for them. We want to tackle the culture of competitive dumbing down."
O-level students across the country would all sit the same "gold standard" paper, with each subject set by a single examination board.
Less academically-inclined students, however, would be taking simpler qualifications, leading teachers and other opponents of the proposals to call the proposed new system "two-tier".
One Liberal Democrat source said of Mr Gove's proposals: "This looks like a huge upheaval for very modest gains.
"In fact, his plan looks like it will actually lower the bar of aspiration for many young people who will be forced to accept mediocrity at a very young age."
Despite being welcomed by campaigners for higher school standards, as well as Prime Minister David Cameron, who sees those proposals as a "great Conservative policy", Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg threatened to reject the idea altogether.
Liberal Democrats complained that they had not been consulted, and Mr Clegg, currently at climate change talks in Brazil, stressed that the proposals had not been discussed or agreed within the coalition and were "not Government policy".
He also said: “Of course we need to make sure that we constantly improve the exam system so it’s rigorous and stretching.
“But I’m not in favour of anything that would lead to a two- tier system where children at quite a young age are somehow cast on a scrapheap.
“What you want is an exam system which is fit for the future, doesn't turn the clock back to the past and rewards hard work for the many ... not just for some and not just for the few."
