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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Aletha Adu Political correspondent

‘Exam-obsessed’ schools leave pupils unready for work, Alan Milburn says

Students sit exams at individual desks in a large hall.
Milburn said the current education model would face increasing scrutiny if it continued to prioritise exam results over long-term outcomes for young people. Photograph: Trish Gant/Alamy

An “exam-obsessed” school system is leaving young people unprepared for work, Alan Milburn has said, as new polling suggests teachers believe pupils are leaving education without the skills they need for adult life.

Milburn, a former cabinet minister under Tony Blair and now leading a government-commissioned review into young people and work, said the system had become overly focused on academic sorting rather than real-world readiness.

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