Gcses

Tristram Hunt’s education policy was assumed to be a victim of Ed Milband’s straitjacket. But now, the shadow education is free to speak his mind about where Labour went wrong and his actual thoughts on education policy. On the Today programme this morning, Hunt explained why he was sticking the boot into Miliband for the second time in 24 hours: ‘It’s right that every shadow cabinet member reflects on their area of policy. We suffered a crushing defeat and we need to know what went right and what went wrong. One of the frustrations of the election campaign is that many of the public’s priorities on education — smaller class sizes, better apprenticeships, better qualified teachers

At last, something Michael Gove and Stephen Twigg agree on. Both the Education Secretary and his opposite number agree that efforts need to be made to tackle pupils entering the same exams multiple times, sometimes even through multiple exam boards. There are often legitimate reasons but the practice has become more c used to boost grades. In light of today’s GCSEs results, the shadow Education Secretary has urged Gove to target schools that are gaming the system; to ensure ‘the system is robust, so students only need to take the exam once.’ Good idea, except the Education Secretary has already recognised the issue and taken steps to address it. In

Critics and fans of Michael Gove alike accept that sometimes the Education Secretary can be a little too pugnacious. He often encourages the pantomime boos that accompany him, and will throw himself into any fight with gusto. But then the representatives of the leading teaching unions pop up to criticise his reforms, and it becomes very clear how Gove ended up like this. Christine Blower’s interview on the Today programme was one notable example. The NUT general secretary argued that grades hadn’t necessarily been devalued, and that the reforms might devalue the achievements of those children who have already passed their exams. She said: ‘We think this is slightly rushed

You just can’t keep Michael Gove down. After beating a very public retreat by u-turning on plans to replace GCSEs earlier this year, he’s announced today the all-new I-level qualifications. I-Levels will be graded 1-8 — with a current A* roughly equal to a 7 — and will take on much of his English Baccalaureate plans, including a greatly reduced significance on coursework and limited resits. The Baccalaureate was a rare defeat for the most fervent of cabinet ministers. Back then, he told the Daily Mail his exam reforms were a ‘step too far’, but it now appears Gove was still determined to get his own way. Following the GCSE

Michael Gove’s enemies will have savoured his defeat yesterday, and enjoyed every second of his Commons speech admitting that his pet project, the EBacc, was ‘a bridge too far’. Gove is fighting a war on many fronts — and he lost a battle. It doesn’t happen often, which is precisely why it’s memorable. I look at this in my Telegraph column today. Here are my main points: 1. The passion of Gove — and Adonis. Gove is just as passionate about the transformative power of education as Andrew Adonis and, I suspect, for the same reason. Both were born in modest circumstances: Adonis to a single father in Camden, Gove

Coalition ministers and commentators like to study Michael Gove as an example of a successful reforming politician. The Education Secretary is most definitely man not mouse, taking on some of the most vehement vested interests in our public services, and even appearing to enjoy himself while he does it. But today’s change of tack on GCSE reform shows that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Actually, as the FT’s Chris Cook so eloquently explained on the Today programme, it don’t matter whether the reformed exams are called Gove-levels, EBCs, or plain old GCSEs: what is clearly most important is that the reforms call time on

One of the biggest gripes about Michael Gove’s GCSE reforms from those on board with the changes is that they won’t come into effect until after the 2015 election. Supporters wonder why there is such a lag between ministers reaching agreement about scrapping an exam that they currently believe is not fit for purpose, and pupils sitting down to take the new qualification. The answer is that it was part of the deal that was reached with Nick Clegg, who was initially upset about the direction of the changes. The Independent reports today that Gove does have an interim plan, though. To underline the fact that he has little faith

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

The news that the coalition will announce on Tuesday that it is scrapping GCSEs is welcome. GSCEs are a devalued qualification and replacing them with a far more rigorous exam should boost England, Wales and Northern Ireland’s global competiveness as well as preparing pupils better for A-Levels. (Simon Walters’ scoop has the details on how the new qualification will differ from GCSEs). That this change is going ahead is a sign that the coalition is now functioning far better than it was a few months ago. When the idea of getting rid of GSCEs was originally floated back in June, Clegg reacted with unthinking fury. But in talks that have

Michael Gove faced a tough grilling from MPs on the Education Select Committee this morning about the row over GCSE English results. But the Education Secretary gave as good as he got, launching a fierce attack on the Welsh education minister Leighton Andrews for putting children in Wales at what he said was a disadvantage by ordering a remark of the papers. He told the packed committee room: ‘I believe that the children who have been disadvantaged are children in Wales. I think the decision by the Welsh education minister, Leighton Andrews, is irresponsible and mistaken. And I think that he has undermined confidence in Welsh children’s GCSEs and I

Michael Gove faces MPs at education questions this afternoon, and as you might expect, GCSEs appear a couple of times on the order paper. Labour’s Emma Reynolds will ask the Education Secretary ‘what plans he has for the future of GCSEs, and if he will make a statement’. As I blogged on Friday, Gove does have plans to make a statement about the future of the secondary school exams, and the Liberal Democrats believe they’ve managed to squash any hopes he had of returning to the two-tier system of O levels and CSEs. But Gove didn’t quite stick to this when he did his tour of the television and radio