Exam Reform

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

One thing that the coalition Government have done is allow schools that are concerned about the quality of GCSEs, particularly the modular nature of some GCSEs, to teach the IGCSE. I visited a state school in Hertfordshire on Friday, where a mathematics teacher told me that she hoped that we would adopt a system that was more similar to the IGCSE, because that would help inject greater rigour into the process. I was able to reassure her that we were learning from best international practice and that I would encourage all schools to consider how the IGCSE might be an appropriate preparation for the changes that we hope to introduce.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I would like rigorously to test the Secretary of State’s statement. To assist me, will he provide the evidence base for the policy that he has announced to assure me that it will benefit young people and this country’s economy?

[Michael Gove]

Yes, I would be happy to share with the hon. Lady the work that has been done by the university of Durham, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Ofqual, Ofsted and King’s College London, all of which have pointed out the way in which the current model of GCSE examination needs to change. I would also be happy to share with her best practice in every successful education jurisdiction, which stresses a broad curriculum of the kind that the English baccalaureate aspires to provide.