Last week, schools woke up to the news from exam board AQA that GCSE exam papers in Italian and Polish would be sat online in 2026. While this affects only a minority of students, it will pave the way for a gradual shift online over the next decade.
Expert Prof Robert Coe from the Education Endowment Foundation expressed concerns around the move, warning that children from poor backgrounds could be disadvantaged and teachers would be “sweating at the thought of a technical failure”.
Many teachers spoke out in support of the essential fairness of “pencil and paper” exams amid scepticism about getting large groups of pupils online at the same time.
As if to prove the point later in the week, schools with students taking a number of online Oxford admissions tests were incensed when the assessment platform was plagued with issues, showing the wrong questions and repeatedly crashing or failing to record answers.
Dr David James, the deputy head of Lady Eleanor Holles School, said the system had been a disaster and also cast a vote for pen and paper.
Concerns over unfairness were also in the mix on Thursday when the publication of Key Stage 4 data revealed that the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged candidates was the widest it has been since 2011.
The figures also showed that state schools are no closer to meeting the Government’s target of 75 per cent of students entering exams in the suite of desirable “EBacc” subjects in 2024, and 90 per cent in 2027. The figure this year lies at just 39.3 per cent, with the lack of modern language take-up proving a key stumbling block.
Independent schools, known for producing a stream of enthusiastic linguists, proved they are onto something, as a YouGov survey for the British Academy revealed that 71 per cent of Britons favour making modern languages compulsory in secondary schools.
No such worries for sex education perhaps, given that it is compulsory in secondary schools, but controversy still swirls over exactly what sex ed lessons should contain.
In a move that could stir the pot further or potentially put parents’ minds at rest, education secretary Gillian Keegan has told schools that materials used in sex education lessons must be available for parents to see.
Amid the tidal wave of education news, let’s not forget about the never-ending saga of RAAC, also known as “crumbly concrete.” Another 43 schools joined the club of buildings containing this questionable material, bringing the total to 214. And local press reports seem to be announcing new ones all the time. It’s a stark reminder of the less-than-ideal conditions some state-sector educators are grappling with.
On the other side of the fence, independent schools are dealing with a different kind of drama. Reports suggest that they might lose their right to claim back past VAT receipts under the Labour Party’s new plan to tax the sector. Many schools were banking on this move, in the event of a (seemingly likely) Labour win at the next election.
Like the RAAC saga, it’s a story that is expected to run and run.