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

We’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 fro