Councils oppose ‘elite’ sixth form plans

Local councils are already opposing government plans to create new “elite” sixth forms in their area – insisting they have enough quality 16-to-18 schools and colleges. 

Ministers have also been warned they must not allow the new institutions to become “cuckoos in the nest” which damage local education “ecosystems”. 

Fifty-five areas have been identified as having “weak” school outcomes and will now be known as “education investment areas” under the government’s levelling up plans. 

These “cold spots” will be prioritised as the location for “specialist” sixth form free schools with a “track record of progress on to leading universities” – such as the highly selective Harris Westminster Sixth Form. 

But FE leaders have questioned the evidence for the new institutions – with one college principal saying it is the last thing his area needs. 

FE Week analysis shows there are 1,414 existing sixth forms and colleges in the 55 education investment areas already. And 303 of them teach fewer than 200 students – the Department for Education’s benchmark for a financially viable sixth form. 

Nottinghamshire has the highest number with 71, while Hartlepool and Knowsley have the least with five. 

Some councils in the education investment areas have already voiced concern at the government’s plan. 

Kate Groucutt, St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet member for education, skills and business, told FE Week her area’s seven existing sixth forms and colleges instead need “certainty, stability and more funding”, while Luton councillor Aslam Khan said his area already has a “enough and a good breadth of” nine school sixth forms and colleges that “just need to be funded better”. 

Cambridgeshire County Council, which has 55 school sixth forms and colleges, also questioned the need for another sixth form as its team completed a review of post-16 providers 18 months ago which “showed there is sufficient provision for our five-year planning period”. 

The exact make-up of the proposed new sixth forms isn’t clear as the levelling up secretary Michael Gove’s white paper is light on detail, with no promise of extra cash to fund them. 

A DfE trail of the announcement earlier this week labelled them as “elite”, but there is no mention of them being selective in the white paper. 

However, ministers last year backed a joint bid by Eton College and Star Academies to sponsor three selective sixth forms in the north and Midlands, which could be an insight into the direction of travel. 

Leaders of existing selective sixth forms told FE Week’s sister publication Schools Week their model allowed them to provide a more rigorous academic education to those aiming for top universities, but sounded caution over expansion plans and their potential impact on other communities. 

At Newham Collegiate Sixth Form in east London, prospective students need at least eight GCSEs, including EBacc and a grade 7 in English and maths. 

The City of London Academies Trust, which sponsors NCS, is also launching a new “collegiate” group of sixth forms, including two more selective institutions, in September. 

Trust chief executive Mark Emmerson said a similar “pathway arrangement” in metropolitan areas of the north “might be a really good way of avoiding the elite institutions taking children from the other schools, which is a potential problem”. 

But he warned new sixth forms must not be “cuckoos in the nest”, adding that it was “really quite important that that borough-wide knowledge in the local area is brought into the discussion”. 

Harris Westminster Academy requires entrants to sit an exam and attend an interview, with pupils previously eligible for free school meals prioritised in admissions. 

Principal James Handscombe said because of selection, his teachers could focus on a “smaller breadth and provide for those students that might not be challenged in a group where everything was aimed at the middle”. 

But he admitted replicating the model outside London could be a “challenge”. 

College leaders were quick to slam the idea of more 16-to-19 providers opening in the area. 

Darren Hankey, the principal of Hartlepool College, said: “I think the last thing Hartlepool needs on top of an FE college, a sixth form college, two school sixth forms, a specialist sixth form, and at least five private providers that send buses to the town to collect students is another provider.” 

Derek Whitehead, principal of Leeds College of Building, added: “Government does not need to create more institutions. What is needed now is increased support and investment in our colleges so we can continue to expand our provision.” 

Analysis by Schools Week shows that 62.5 per cent of constituencies covered by the 55 education investment areas are led by Conservative MPs. 

Conservative MP for Mid Derbyshire Pauline Latham welcomed the idea of an additional “elite” sixth form to be added to the 58 school sixth forms and colleges that already exist in Derbyshire. 

She told FE Week: “Some pupils in Derby and Derbyshire currently have no choice but to attend the local college, but for some children, the protected environment of a specialist sixth form is more appropriate. 

“If they are properly implemented, then I believe elite sixth forms will give high-fliers in Derby and Derbyshire the opportunities to excel.”

Top Tory mayor to bid for unprecedented skills powers

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has revealed he will fight for control of more post-16 skills funding from government as negotiations open for a “deeper” devolution deal. 

The levelling up white paper announced plans for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester to be “trailblazer” combined authorities which will be allowed to bid for more powers. 

Both areas took control of their adult education budget in 2019 but have called for greater devolution of skills funding on several occasions, including for 16-to-18 education and apprenticeships. 

Street took to Twitter this evening to say this was one of three areas he will request more power over during negotiations with the government. He stopped short of specifying exactly what funding streams he wants or why they would be better devolved. 

However, Street used his 2021 re-election manifesto to announce that he would “seek the full devolution of all 16-to-18 further education funding to the West Midlands, so that it can be aligned with West Midlands priorities and with 18+ adult education funding”. 

A spokesperson from the WMCA later told FE Week: “We have already seen the benefits of devolved powers over the adult education budget, which has enabled us to work with the further education sector to develop more responsive skills provision that better meets the needs of employers and communities.  

“We are keen to extend our influence over wider skills and training budgets, and the delivery of careers services.” 

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority was unable to say whether it would also seek greater control over skills funding beyond the adult education budget. 

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers warned that there “may be risks” to further skills devolution. “A diverse approach to commissioning can mean that providers are bidding for multiple different pots of funding in multiple different formats,” a spokesperson said. 

“This impacts on their ability to deliver a fully joined-up skills offer to employers operating at a regional and national level.” 

Apprenticeship achievement rates removed due to ‘error’

National apprenticeship achievement rates for 2019/20 have been taken down by the government after statisticians spotted that they are likely to be overstated due to an “error” – almost a year after publication.

The decision to remove the rates, first published in March 2021, was announced by the Department for Education’s chief statistician Neil McIvor this evening.

He said the error has “identified people who had withdrawn from their apprenticeship programme but who, at the time of publishing, were thought to have continued into the next year”.

McIvor also said the error is “likely to lead to a reduction to the overall 2019 to 2020 rate that was previously published”, but the size of the impact “can only be robustly quantified once the revised data is calculated”.

The rates have now been taken down “until new data is available”.

National achievement rate tables published last year showed that the overall rate for all apprenticeships fell slightly from 64.8 per cent in 2018/19 to 64.2 per cent in 2019/20.

Simon Ashworth, director of policy at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said it was “disappointing” that the error has only just been identified.

He added: “This is likely to have masked the actual impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on apprentice achievement. At the time, it seemed to have held up better than expected. The government must recognise the impact that the pandemic continues to have on apprenticeship success rates. They need to take a measured and pragmatic approach to any subsequent intervention.”

McIvor said his teams now need to complete the “full production cycle for 2020 to 2021 in order to provide new data for 2020 to 2021 and revisions to any preceding years which will include full quality assurance of the 2019 to 2020 data”.

He added: “This revised data for 2019 to 2020 will form part of the national high-level three-year time series, containing data for 2018/2019 to 2020/2021, which is scheduled for publication in March 2022. Once that data has been calculated and quality assured, national level data for 2019 to 2020 will be available again.”

The 2019/20 achievement rates did not contain any provider-level data due to the pandemic.

Elite sixth forms: is there room for optimism?

Let’s have ‘elite sixth forms’ for hospitality, catering, caring and so on, writes Ben Gadsby

My New Year’s resolution was to be more optimistic.

New Year’s resolutions are always harder to keep in February, and it’s not helped by this week’s announcement of “specialist sixth-form free schools”.

According to the government, these are “to ensure talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to the highest standard of education this country offers,” with the aim to support young people into leading universities.

The ever thoughtful Tom Richmond has provided almost as many valid critiques of the policy as there are words in the announcement. I think I agree with all of them. He is far from alone.

How to maintain my optimism?

Well, 16-18 education often does not work for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds – so I am instinctively open to suggestions for ways to do things better.

Critically, the offer to young people who haven’t achieved grade 4 in GCSE English and maths is usually the opposite of the “highest standard of education”.

We also know that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are only half as likely to leave school with these essential qualifications; and if they don’t get them at 16, they are unlikely to catch up.

They are also unlikely to be able to achieve T Levels, good apprenticeships, or other high quality post-16 options.

Perhaps some of these new sixth forms can address this challenge?

All we have so far is about three sentences’ worth of policy intention, so there is room for the policy to develop.

When you think about how much has changed in the four years since the Augar review of post-18 education was announced, it’s not totally mad to imagine there will be opportunities for tweaks before a single sixth form starts seeing students.

The choices made between announcement and implementation will determine whether the actual result is good, bad, or ugly.

All we have so far is about three sentences’ worth of policy intention

And it is possible to imagine a set of choices that results in something really exciting.

The rest of the Department for Education’s announcement is very skills-focussed with the new Future Skills Unit, more skills bootcamps, a boost for Institutes of Technology, and supported internships.

The skills agenda is the heart of the government’s programme, and these new sixth forms will be dragged towards that by the equivalent of gravity.

Indeed, Tuesday’s sixth form announcement was an explicit precursor to Wednesday’s broader levelling-up white paper.

This is supposed to be the key guide to all government policy for a decade, and ministers are likely to be thinking about tailoring policy to address the 12 new missions.

So only a skills approach to sixth forms fit the bill.

There are two relevant levelling-up missions, to ensure “the number of people successfully completing high-quality skills training will have significantly increased in every area of the UK” and that “pay, employment and productivity will have risen in every area of the UK”.

Academic and skills sixth forms both have a role to play and shouldn’t be in competition.

They should have different high-quality offers – true parity of esteem.

And it’s obvious which bit of the landscape is missing, and therefore ripe to be addressed by this week’s announcement.

So, here’s my pitch for what the announcement might end up meaning in practice: Institutes of Technology for non-STEM skills.

A suite of new sixth forms that specialise in hospitality, catering, caring – a state version of famous nannying institution Norland College?

As a part-qualified accountant, I always think that industry is ideal for this, giving teenagers the chance to get their AAT qualifications.

Lots of people end up doing evening classes anyway in their early 20s.

Let’s offer T levels, apprenticeships and recognised professional qualifications and routes not just into jobs but into careers. And let’s use employment outcomes as the measure of success.

It may be optimistic. But it also seems to be the only thing that makes sense for the policy environment we live in.

By the time this policy is fleshed out and delivered under the next minister (or even the one after that), who knows where we will be.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

My New Year’s resolution survives another week!

The Pearson National Teaching Awards: Who Are You Nominating This Year? 

We are fast approaching a special time of the year for everyone working in education, and no, it’s not the summer holidays! We are talking about The Pearson National Teaching Awards, an annual celebration of teaching staff across the country designed to highlight the life-changing work that takes place in schools.


Entries are now open – enter your school/college today! It’s completely free and very easy to do but be quick because the deadline for nominations is fast approaching – past midnight March 4th it will be too late to shine a light on the amazing work your colleagues (and yourself!) have been doing.

As the deadline looms we are reminded of what past winners had to say about the Awards: “I cannot stress how much of a positive experience this award has been, not only for me but for the whole school community”. (2019 Gold Winner)

Since the Awards were founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam, we’ve seen the immense impact these Awards have on the whole community, bringing everyone together in celebration of all of the amazing educators in their area.

Keith Berry, the winner of the Lifetime Achievement award in 2019, describes the buzz he felt throughout the community:

“… of course the Pearson Teaching Awards are not purely about individuals or groups of teachers. They are, most importantly, about celebrating and recognising the achievements of whole school communities.  From the moment we returned to school, following the Awards Ceremony at the Roundhouse Theatre in London, children, their families,  staff and Governors were buzzing with pride and excitement that Park Community Academy Blackpool – their school, had been in the news and on national television.  Children are still asking to look at and hold the Gold Lifetime Achievement Trophy on a regular basis!”

So what does it take to win an Award? We care about the impact that the nominee has had on learners, colleagues and the community. That might be in the form of extracurricular activities, unique and creative approach to teaching, results or something else entirely that you know will wow the judges.

What doesn’t matter for the judges is the type of school or college – small, independent, new, old, big, rural, state – all are equally considered for the awards.

With 15 categories to choose from you will definitely find one that suits the educators you wish to celebrate. Whether it’s a teacher who’s made a real impact on your pupils, a whole school/team you wish to recognise or a member of support staff, there’s an award to honour them. Categories include ‘Outstanding New Teacher of the Year’, ‘The Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education’, ‘Teaching Assistant of the Year’ and ‘Headteacher of the Year’ both at primary and secondary level. There is even the Unsung Hero Award for anyone working in education including support staff. It is the only category open to nominations for parents and carers so encourage your community to get their nominations in!
 
Once you pick the category, all you need to do is fill out the form online and tell us all about your nominee. Each category might have slightly different points that you need to cover, however, those are explained thoroughly in the application form.

Don’t forget that The Pearson National Teaching Awards holds a variety of celebrations throughout the year – Silver Winner Announcements on Thank a Teacher Day, a Silver Winners Afternoon Tea in July, and an Awards Ceremony and BBC One Coverage in November. So get entering and make it a year to remember for your school/college!

Levelling Up: Ambushed by waffle 

It takes more than rhetoric to transform a country. 

The Conservatives have been dining out on ‘levelling up’ since they elected Boris Johnson as leader. It’s been a handy catchphrase despite vociferous criticism for its lack of substance.

So the drawn out wait for sight of a comprehensive, transformative levelling up strategy raised expectations high. The hype was real.

Now we’ve had sight of the full document, many in the sector will be feeling unfulfilled. 

More than that … people are angry. 

The Department for Education trailed plans to open new 16-19 sixth forms yesterday. Their press notice literally described “new elite sixth forms” that will be opened up across the country as a headline contributing policy to levelling up. 

The sector’s sighs of exasperation were palpable. Yet again, this government’s approach to education reform is setting up new institutions. Lessons have not been learned from the closures, dissolutions and forced mergers of university technical colleges, national colleges and studio schools over the years. Then there’s evidence, like the AoC’s 2020 report on the impact of competition in post-16 education and training which points clearly to competition “undermining sufficiency, efficiency, quality and equality”.

The only certain beneficiaries here are the lawyers and professional services firms. 

More than that though, the idea of ‘elite’ academic achievement being the pinnacle of educational achievement is deeply problematic, not least at a time when the skills system is in the midst of reforms to technical education and training. Perhaps that’s one reason why the word ‘elite’ had disappeared from policy proposals when the full document was published today.

It looks a lot like Michael Gove, as secretary of state for levelling up, is once again calling the shots at the Department for Education. 

In the past, Gove has had a habit of shouting down criticism of his academic-first approach to education policy. “How dare you say that young people from disadvantaged communities shouldn’t get a fair shot at the best university education” he would sensationally say if he reads this.

Yet, introducing even more competition in the funding-starved post-16 system risks taking precious resource away from the opportunities of the very people he proposes to be acting in the interests of. I find it hard to believe that Nadhim Zahawi, who introduced himself to the sector as a secretary of state that would “follow the evidence”, is comfortable with this approach at all. 

Elsewhere, one of the government’s 12 levelling up missions was to boost the number of adults completing FE and skills training by 200,000 a year up to 2030. Forty per cent of those, 80,000, should come from fifty local authorities identified as the lowest skilled. 

Great – the decline in adults participating in education and training has been severe and it’s about time there was a serious plan to tackle it. 

But that’s not what we’ve got. There was a list of projects and programmes; lines we’ve seen before about bootcamps, LSIPs, IoTs and the free level 3 offer. Disappointingly, there were no new ideas.

Except perhaps plans to hand what’s left of the adult education budget to local areas that want it. But devolution, whether that’s to a combined authority mayor, an employer representative body or one of the new county deals announced today, can’t be an end in of itself. 

There’s an opportunity now, with the 200,000 a year target for example, for the centre – DfE – to introduce some much needed accountability and transparency here. There is a balance to be found between the flexibilities that colleges and providers have enjoyed by being part of a devolved adult education system while also demonstrably contributing to national skills priorities.

Levelling up white paper: The key reforms for FE and skills

The government has finally published its flagship levelling up white paper.

Here is what it said on FE and skills…

Little detail on ‘elite’ new sixth forms

New 16 to 19 free schools will be opened by the Department for Education to help “ensure that talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to a college, school sixth form or 16-19 academy, with a track record of progress on to leading universities”.

The white paper contains little additional detail on what was trailed earlier this week about new “elite sixth forms” in some of the 55 education investment areas (EIAs).

These areas have been selected primarily as the focus for school performance interventions. While all areas could apply for one of these new sixth forms, the EIAs will be prioritised.

The white paper provides no evidence on the need or demand for new institutions in the EIAs. However, the white paper is clear that these new free schools will be focussed explicitly on academic education and progression to “leading” universities. The highly selective Harris Westminster Sixth Form is used as an example.

The white paper also does not set out how much funding has been set aside to open these new institutions.

Interestingly, the word “elite” appears to have been dropped by government communications around these new sixth forms despite the DfE trailing the announcement using the term earlier this week.

Alongside these new free schools, the white paper outlines plans to open eight new 16 to 19 maths schools, at least one in each English region. They will be in Cambridge, Durham, Imperial College London, Lancaster, Leeds, Surrey, West Midlands and another one in the East of England. This would be in addition to the three already operating in Exeter, Liverpool and Kings College London.

A skills mission

One of the government’s twelve levelling up “missions” is to increase the number of adults in training by 200,000 more people every year between now and 2030.

Today’s white paper shines a little more light on how this mission will be measured. We now know that the headline measure will be 19+ FE and skills achievements but excluding community learning.

In 2018/19, the year used as the government’s baseline for this skills target, there were 1,045,100 achievements. For comparison, in 2020/21 that figure was just 797,100.

In addition, supplementary measures will also be considered. Those are apprenticeship starts and achievements per 1,000, percentage of 16- to 64-year-olds with qualifications at level 3+ and 19+ further education and skills participation.

Fifty local authority areas have been identified as “low skilled” and have a special target of 80,000 extra FE and skills achievements within the 200,000 figure.

They’ve been identified as the bottom third of local authorities with the lowest proportion of 16- to 64-year-olds qualified at level 3 or above. Sandwell has the lowest proportion, 36.9 per cent and Medway has the highest, 53.3 per cent, within this grouping.

Three areas have been selected as new “pathfinder areas” where the intention is for local employment and skills services will be more closely aligned. Blackpool, Walsall and Barking and Dagenham have been chosen because both unemployment and vacancies are high.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund gets underway next year

The white paper said that the £2.6bn UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be used to invest in three main areas, including: improving communities and place, people and skills, and supporting local business.

Pre-launch guidance for the fund, said it will focus on communities and place and local business interventions in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Further investment into people and skills will follow from 2024-25, when the funding pot reaches its full extent.

As part of the investment into people and skills, the government will boost core skills and support adults to progress in work.

They will also reduce levels of economic inactivity and move those furthest from the labour market closer to employment.

The government plans to support disadvantaged people to access the skills they need to progress in life and into work, support local areas to fund local skills needs and supplement local adult skills provision.

In terms of delivery, all places across the UK will receive a conditional allocation from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

To access their allocation, each place (via local government) will be asked to set out measurable outcomes they are looking to deliver, and what interventions they are choosing to prioritise in an investment plan.

Also, as part of the launch of the fund, adults across the whole of the UK will benefit from the Multiply numeracy programme.

This will offer national and local support for people to gain or improve their numeracy skills, worth £559m over the spending review 2021 period. The programme will be dished out by central government.

Future skills unit and winding down of skills and productivity board

The Department for Education is setting up a new “Unit for Future Skills” which will bring together skills data and information held across government. 

This data will be used across central and local government and will be accessible to providers and the general public. 

The new unit will work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Work and Pensions. 

It will produce information on local skills demand, future skills needs of businesses, the skills available in an area and the pathways between training and good jobs.

“Good granular data is critical to enable the skills system to respond positively to emerging skills needs and provide valuable skill provision,” the white paper said.

The white paper said the unit will be a “multi-year project”. However, several short-term goals have also been set. 

“The unit will aim to improve the quality of data available within and outside [the] UK government in the short-term to strengthen the quality of local plans and provision, and their alignment with labour market need, as well as enable the updating of apprenticeship standards, qualifications, and accountability measures,” the white paper said. 

The unit will be in addition to the existing skills and productivity board, which was set up by the DfE last year to identify skills gaps and provide “expert advice” on how courses and qualifications should align to the skills that employers need post-Covid-19.

A DfE spokesperson told FE Week that once the skills and productivity board has completed its reports set by previous education secretary Gavin Williamson, the board’s work will be subsumed into the unit and it will be wound down.

Royal charter for Institutes of Technology

The white paper said that successful Institutes of Technology may apply to receive a royal charter, which will secure their “long-term position as anchor institutions” within their region. 

IoTs are collaborations between colleges, universities, and employers, specialising in delivering higher technical education in areas across England.

The paper said they are the “preeminent organisations for technical STEM education” and said that a royal charter will place them on the same level as UK universities. 

The DfE will set out the criteria and application process for royal charter status this spring.

In December 2021, the government announced nine new IoTs across England, building on 12 that were established from 2019. This took the total number of IoTs to 21.

More areas to be offered devolved AEB

More local areas will be given the opportunity to take control of their adult education budget even if they do not have an elected mayor.

Read the full FE Week story on this proposal here.

Levelling up: More areas to be offered devolved adult education budgets

More local areas will be given the opportunity to take control of their adult education budget even if they do not have an elected mayor under proposals announced today in the government’s long-awaited levelling up white paper.

Funding for the AEB will be part of a new “devolution framework” which is described as “clear menu of options” to be offered to every part of England.

Nine new “county deals” are set to be negotiated in areas that do not currently have an elected mayor, with the aim of agreeing some by this autumn. The nine areas are: Cornwall; Derbyshire and Derby; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Durham; Hull and East Yorkshire; Leicestershire; Norfolk; Nottinghamshire and Nottingham; and Suffolk.

The white paper, launched today by levelling up secretary Michael Gove, also announces negotiations for a new mayoral combined authority deal for York and North Yorkshire.

All areas will be offered control of their AEB, and be expected to provide input into local skills improvement plans which will influence the courses offered by colleges and training providers in each local area.

Over half of the national adult education budget is already devolved to nine mayoral combined authorities in England; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North of Tyne, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West of England and West Yorkshire plus the Greater London Authority.

Currently, these mayors have full control over how to spend their devolved adult education budgets, with the exception of basic skills entitlements.

The government has said it will open negotiations on “trailblazer deeper devolution deals” with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester combined authorities to act as the “blueprint” for other MCAs to follow, with bids for more powers “welcome”. It is not clear whether this could include further devolution of skills funding.

It is also not clear at this stage how much funding will total for each new local area being offered the AEB.

The white paper says the government’s “preferred model” of devolution is one with a directly-elected leader covering a “well-defined economic geography with a clear and direct mandate, strong accountability and the convening power to make change happen”.

However, because this may not suit all areas, the framework sets out a “flexible, tiered approach, allowing areas to deepen devolution at their own pace”.

“By 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution and a simplified, long-term funding settlement,” the white paper said.

There are three levels to the devolution framework:

  • Level 3 – A single institution or County Council with a directly elected mayor (DEM), across a functional economic area (FEA) or whole county area
  • Level 2 – A single institution or County Council without a DEM, across a FEA or whole county area
  • Level 1 – Local authorities working together across a FEA or whole county area e.g. through a joint committee

Only levels 2 and 3 areas will be able to take control of their AEB.

Swap ‘cliff-edge’ GCSEs for ‘test when ready’, says exams review 

Students should be tested “when ready” rather than made to sit “cliff-edge” exams, a review into qualifications has said.

The Independent Assessment Commission, funded by the National Education Union (NEU), has published an 80-page report today on the future of assessment and qualifications in England. 

It is one of five ongoing reviews looking into the future of exams as organisations look to reshape the system following the pandemic disruption.

IAC say their evidence suggests qualifications are “inequitable and unreliable” and do not provide young people with skills to “thrive” in the 21st century. 

In a series of 10 recommendations, they say alternative approaches to high-stakes exams as the only assessment mode should be trialled.

One solution is allowing students “opportunities to demonstrate achievements when ready” through 14 to 19 education.

Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual chief regulator, told Schools Week last year that any developments towards online exams could help with a “test when ready” approach in GCSEs and A-levels.

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of school leaders’ union ASCL, said the idea is “good in theory but hard to land in practice” requiring such changes in the system that “it may not be realistic”. 

exams
ASCL’s Geoff Barton

He said: “The difficulty is that a large number of pupils move on to colleges and training at the age of 16 rather than going on to a sixth form at their secondary school. 

“With the best will in the world, it is exceptionally difficult to plan and coordinate pathways across different institutions over the course of several years, and establish an appropriate and manageable qualifications system to match.”

Tim Oates, the director of assessment research and development at Cambridge Assessment, added the sector had moved away from early entry to GCSE as it had “many problems”. 

He added: “Who decides ‘when ready’? What if an extra year would have brought a much higher grade? It readily can lead to a proliferation of assessment.”

The IAC’s commissioners include Dame Alison Peacock of the Chartered College of Teaching and Olly Newton of the Edge Foundation think-tank.

Professor Jo-Anne Baird, who sits Ofqual’s standards advisory group, is also a commissioner on the review. It is chaired by Louise Hayward, professor of educational assessment at the University of Glasgow.

Hayward said the “time has come for change” and urged policy makers to act upon their report. 

Rethinking Assessment, Pearson, NCFE and the Times Education Commission are also carrying out their own reviews of the education system. 

A Department for Education spokesperson said exams are the “best and fairest” way of testing students and “ensure young people leave school or college prepared for the workplace and higher study”.

Ofqual has been approached for comment.