I'm A Headteacher. We Need To Completely Overhaul GCSEs

Dr. Nikos SavvasWe’re having the wrong conversation about GCSEs.While politicians promise to “reduce assessment volume” and exam boards tweak their grading systems, the huge opportunity of a national free education system is being wasted on millions of young people by preparing them for a world that no longer exists.The government’s upcoming review of education will consider making minor adjustments to GCSE assessment, focussing on a bit less volume here, a small tweak there. But these reforms miss the fundamental problem: we’re using an assessment method that actively undermines everything we know about learning, development, and what young people need to succeed in the modern economy.While it is important to focus on making GCSEs “less harmful”, given the volume of studies and reports from students and parents on the significant detrimental impact of exams on their mental health, the government is forgetting to ask whether training 16-year-olds to memorise facts and regurgitate them under extreme pressure serves any purpose in an age of artificial intelligence and instant access to information.What I find most strange is that in the world of work – the stage we, as educators, are focussed on preparing young people for – you are rarely required to sit an exam. Instead, employers want employees to problem-solve, collaborate with others and think creatively and critically. Yet traditional exams – which reward memorisation, go against a growth-mindset and pigeonhole students while they are developing – are still used as a way to test ‘ability’. While we tinker with assessment volumes and grading methodologies, the world of work has undergone a fundamental transformation. Within our group we offer adult education and training, professional development and outstanding FE provision which means our employer engagement is exceptional. Through that work, I witness daily the disconnect between what employers desperately need and what our examination system continues to reward.What employees need The UK’s fastest-growing sectors: artificial intelligence, renewable energy, digital healthcare, sustainable agriculture, all don’t require employees who can memorise and regurgitate information under pressure. They need people who can collaborate across disciplines, think systemically, adapt rapidly to change, and solve problems that don’t yet exist. Yet our assessment system continues to prioritise the very skills that automation is making obsolete.Consider this: we’re assessing 16-year-olds using methods designed for a world where information was scarce and access to knowledge limited. Today’s students carry the world’s information in their pockets, yet we ask them to demonstrate their worth by recalling facts in isolation. It does not take an experienced educator to realise that students learn best when they collaborate with others, receive meaningful feedback, and are part of a supportive and positive learning environment. Traditional individual examinations offer no opportunity to test or qualify these attributes. But the uncomfortable truth remains that examinations are one of the cheapest assessment methods we have available to us. With a written examination, there is no requirement to fund an experienced and qualified assessor’s tailored one-to-one feedback or engagement in collaborative process to appraise progress. So, what is the solution? Simply put, I believe we need to redesign the assessment system. To use an analogy: during swimming lessons, learning is delivered in progressive stages, with children practicing skills in a safe, controlled environment before trying them independently as the activity can be viewed as a life or death situation. Importantly, students only progress to the next level if they are completely ready. Why can’t learning in school be the same? There will of course be those who say that we still need some sort of assessment method because how else will universities be able to pick the brightest and best students? But at PhD level, often viewed as the pinnacle of academic education, students are assessed through a combination of written work and an oral examination. Surely this would help students properly prepare for the workplace, rather than sitting in absolute silence, pen and paper in hand, answering questions that test their ability to memorise facts? At West Suffolk College, we’ve been experimenting with alternative assessment approaches for several years through projects like the Extended Project Qualification (EPQs).When students engage in extended project work, collaborate on real-world problems, and receive ongoing feedback rather than summative judgement, something remarkable happens. They don’t just perform better academically; they develop resilience, creativity, and the kind of deep learning that traditional exams actually inhibit.I’ve watched students who struggled with traditional GCSEs flourish when given the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities through sustained inquiry, practical application, and collaborative problem-solving. These aren’t students who “aren’t academic”, they’re students whose talents and intelligence don’t fit the narrow parameters of traditional examination.The upcoming government review represents an opportunity, but only if we’re willing to ask bigger questions than how to reduce exam volume. We need to ask whether high-stakes, non-referenced, memory-based assessment serves any legitimate educational purpose in the 21st century.The answer, based on everything we know about learning, development, and workforce needs, is clear: it doesn’t.What we need instead is the courage to design assessment around the capabilities young people actually need to develop, using methods that support rather than undermine their learning and wellbeing. Serving not to lower standards, but to move from a system that sorts students into predetermined categories to one that helps every young person discover and develop their unique potential.The question isn’t whether we can afford to make this transformation. Given the mounting evidence of harm from our current approach, and the urgent need for citizens capable of navigating an ever-changing future, the question is whether we can afford not to.Dr Nikos Savvas is Principal of West Suffolk College and CEO of Eastern Education Group.Related...I Hated School – Then Teachers Made An Observation That Changed My Life'I Don't Need To Listen To You': Female Teachers Are Witnessing A Rise In Classroom MisogynyThe 1 Question Parents Should Ask Teachers At The Start Of The School Year

Comments

Breaking news

World Boxing will require sex testing for fighters before world championships in September

Independent

Texas judge blocks Ten Commandments in public schools with epic ruling that quotes Sonny & Cher, Kurt Vonnegut and Billy Graham

about 1 hour ago

The US Navy is spending millions on testing new drone technology. Setbacks have been significant

Independent

Federal agents arrested a protester for throwing a sandwich at them. Now artists are turning him into a resistance icon on the walls of DC

about 1 hour ago

Judge shoots down Trump DOJ bid to unseal Epstein grand jury notes as ‘diversion’ from releasing unseen files

Independent

Disgusting comment an old woman made to me on the bus. Now I'm furious... why shouldn't I show off my pregnant stomach: FLORA GILL

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

Marco Pierre White Jr pleads guilty to burglary AGAIN: Troubled reality star stole £1,500 worth of Jellycats and 'caused £43k of damage to antiques store' in west London crime spree

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

Careful, William... I've always supported you but now your behaviour's left me cold and I'm not alone: LIZ JONES

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

Scottish Labour MSP Colin Smyth arrested and charged...

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

STEPHEN GLOVER: Even our family homes are not sacrosanct for this desperate, foolish Government. If Starmer breaks his promise on Capital Gains Tax, no one should trust anything he says ever again

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

The luxury life of migrant in taxpayer-funded hotel as he earns thousands from 'Silicon Valley-style' start-up business while enjoying Macbooks, Selfridges shopping and Louis Vuitton accessories

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

Common supplement taken by thousands could help protect women against Alzheimer's, research suggests

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

Taylor Swift 'loves 3 things' about boyfriend Travis Kelce... as they head toward 2 year anniversary

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

DAN HODGES: This is the appalling real reason Labour are evacuating 300 children from Gaza to be treated by the NHS. Do not fall for their cynical games

about 3 hours ago

Dailymail

Google unveils its most EXPENSIVE smartphone yet: AI-powered Pixel 10 Pro Fold features a gearless hinge, a larger outer display and an even bigger battery - but it costs £2,099

about 3 hours ago

BBC News

Government prepares to take over third largest steelworks

about 3 hours ago

BBC News

Police investigating death of French streamer seize equipment and videos

about 3 hours ago

Comments

Similar News

Disgusting comment an old woman made to me on the bus. Now I'm furious... why shouldn't I show off my pregnant stomach: FLORA GILL

Careful, William... I've always supported you but now your behaviour's left me cold and I'm not alone: LIZ JONES

I'm 58 but look 30 thanks to my cheap 'natural Botox' hack... cruel trolls say I'm deluded

Tiny bungalow in 'millionaire's playground' overlooking Sandbanks goes on sale again after 70 years for £1.5m - but there's one big catch

I'm a Morocco expert who has explored every corner of the country. These are my favourite spots away from the tourist traps... and the ones you must avoid

B&M confirms exact date Scottish store will close with shoppers left 'heartbroken'

These 'ugly' Birkenstocks will be everywhere this autumn - here's how I'm styling them

What happened to Katie Price's Mucky Mansion? Ex-glamour model's 'cursed' former home was bought by furniture tycoon at cut-price of £1.15m

I'm an investor and made £21,000 from buying the tariff market dip: Here's how I did it

I built a proper old-school pub in my garden - now I'm selling up

‘My cancer symptoms were mistaken for signs of menopause – now I’m unable to walk’

Anti-British sentiment is on the rise thanks to unchecked immigration and cowardly bureaucrats. I'm proud to have made this country my home - and it's time we embrace patriotism and ditch multi-culturalism, writes imam DR TAJ HARGEY

Noel Gallagher:&#160;I'm proud of my brother - he's been amazing

'Migrant hotels facing closure' and 'Noel: I'm so proud of Liam'

Vladimir Putin brought a 'super cool' motorbike to his summit with Trump and gave it to me: 'I'm dumbfounded'

SARAH VINE: I'm ashamed of renting. But now tax-grabbing Labour is coming after the roof over our heads I've decided I'll never own a house again

‘I hear I’m not doing well’: Trump hopes he can get into heaven and believes solving Ukraine war will get him there

'I'm 88 and I fear my home of 25 years will be lost to the sea'

Dad spent £2.2m on cocaine addiction which wrecked his nose and left him in agony

'I'm a dad and spent £2.2m on a cocaine addiction which wrecked my nose'

Breaking news

World Boxing will require sex testing for fighters before world championships in September

Cheetah cubs rescued before they are lost to illegal trade

Trump’s new co-FBI deputy director once tried to subpoena abortion patients’ records

Ukraine security talks are ‘road to nowhere’ says Lavrov as Nato chiefs meet

Texas judge blocks Ten Commandments in public schools with epic ruling that quotes Sonny & Cher, Kurt Vonnegut and Billy Graham

The US Navy is spending millions on testing new drone technology. Setbacks have been significant

Trump team quietly ends guidance that forced school to accommodate students who don’t speak English

Is Labour really failing on immigration and asylum hotels?

Russian drone strike sees firefighters battle huge blaze at Ukrainian energy facility

Russian foreign minister warns West over excluding Moscow from Ukraine security discussions

New Covid wave warning as cases in hospital patients soar by 31% in a fortnight

Hurricane Erin mapped: Tracking areas most likely to see the impacts of storm surge and 20-foot waves

Federal agents arrested a protester for throwing a sandwich at them. Now artists are turning him into a resistance icon on the walls of DC

Judge shoots down Trump DOJ bid to unseal Epstein grand jury notes as ‘diversion’ from releasing unseen files

Trump purge of Smithsonian exhibits got underway in April and included removal of Harriet Tubman’s hymn book: report

Bolivia will choose a new president but environmental activists see little hope of progress

BBC ‘not institutionally antisemitic’, editor says after row over Gaza coverage

Tommy Robinson deletes tweet of mixed-heritage family in park now ‘living in fear’

Toxic vapor kills fifth person in New York City