The new ministerial team at the DfE should avoid the “siren voices” lobbying to abolish GCSEs, former long standing schools minister Nick Gibb has said, the TES reports.
Mr Gibb, who was relieved of his duties at the DfE in last week’s cabinet reshuffle, has said such a move would be “dismal and unambitious”.
In an article on the Conservative Home website, Mr Gibb also takes a dig at “progressive ideology” in education, which he says has not gone away.
His comments will come as no surprise to progressive educators, many of whom now work in independent schools taking this approach because of parental demand for child-centred learning.
Many teachers working in the independent sector have also argued for a middle way, with the emphasis both on acquiring knowledge and developing skills such as self-led study and collaboration.
Mr Gibb writes: “For the first time, a Conservative government systematically challenged the so-called ‘progressive’ approach – an ideology which downgraded the importance of knowledge and academic rigour and which argued that children learn better through projects and through self-discovery than by teacher-led teaching.
“This philosophy decries exams and dismisses the importance of committing knowledge to memory. It is a philosophy which was failing – and in some schools, despite the huge improvements we’ve made, is still failing – generations of children.”
The cancellation of exams due to the pandemic has added fuel to the fire of debate over the future of GCSEs and whether they serve young people well enough in their current form – a debate often led by educators in the private sector.
Mr Gibb adds: “I urge my successors to resist the siren voices of those who call for GCSEs to be abolished. Nothing would widen the attainment gap more than such a dismal and unambitious policy.
“For a large minority of people, GCSEs are the last academic qualification they will take. Remove them, and that group lose any valid certification of a broad education. GCSEs also serve to define a demanding curriculum and they help hold schools to account. Remove them and weaker schools will grow weaker still.”
He adds: “If we stop pushing forward the knowledge-based curriculum or abandon changes to teacher training, the tide will turn. It’s hard work, but the progressive ideology has not gone away. It would be a tragedy for future generations if we gave in and settled for an easier life.”