The emerging evidence on exams and mental health is alarming (More exam stress at 15 linked to higher risk of depression as young adult – study, 12 February). Exams are the fairest and most reliable way to assess what students know and can do. They provide a sense of achievement and can help to build resilience.
But something is out of sync. Young people face too many GCSE exams over too short a period. As the Cambridge OCR exam board has shown, England’s 16-year-olds spend longer in exam halls than almost any of their international peers. Last year, the government committed to a 10% reduction in exam time. It’s a step in the right direction, when we need a leap.
As the government publishes curriculum reform plans for GCSE subjects this year, we will need more than tinkering around the edges of the curriculum. Teachers and students are pressured to rush through too much content while, in some subjects such as English, a lack of relevance is contributing to an engagement crisis in schools.
We need to be laser-focused on what gets added to the curriculum, and bold enough to cut what’s not working. This won’t be easy, and it may even challenge the government’s mantra of “evolution not revolution” for the education system. But it’s where the evidence directs us. Our young people deserve nothing less.
Myles McGinley
Managing director, Cambridge OCR
• Your report is disturbing. It points to the question as to why, since the school-leaving age was raised to 18, there is an examination at 16. Surely it is time to abolish GCSEs and rethink secondary education?
Prof Michael Bassey
Newark, Nottinghamshire
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