Nick Clegg and Michael Gove will announce their joint plans to reform GCSEs today, a day earlier than they had originally intended. The Deputy Prime Minister appeared alongside the Education Secretary this morning on a school visit, while Gove will make a statement in the Commons this afternoon to announce the changes, which Liberal Democrats are claiming as a victory after the initial row over a possible return to a two-tier system. Clegg told reporters this morning:
‘I think you can raise standards, increase rigour and confidence in our exam system, but still do so in a way which is a single-tier, which covers the vast majority of children in this country. And those are the principles upon which this whole reform will be based.’
Because the details of the new exams – with the exception of a proper name for what are now popularly known as Gove-levels – were given a good hearing in the Mail on Sunday yesterday, the two big questions for today will firstly be whether, in spite of all this healthy proalition agreement, Gove wishes he could have had his way on the system he initially proposed back in June and would like a future majority Conservative government to push reforms even further, and also – more importantly – whether Stephen Twigg will commit to a Labour government continuing the reforms in 2015.
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