Well done to all those who received

Well done to all those who received their GCSE results today. Their achievements come as the exams they have just taken begin to undergo a series of seismic reforms.

New GCSE courses are being introduced in three phases between this September and 2017. Exams will no longer be graded A to G but will instead be graded 9 to 1, with 9 being the highest. The first of these new exams will be sat in 2017, with other subjects following suit in 2018 and 2019.

And, from 2020, all pupils will be expected to take GCSEs in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects of English, maths, science, geography or history, and a language.

All this may leave some of those who have received their results today feeling a little deflated. They should not worry, however, about the value of the GCSEs they have taken. It is an exam that has served us well over many years and it is a significant achievement.

There is, however, an important question over the future direction of GCSEs.

The Government’s insistence that every student should take the “EBacc suite” of subjects puts the focus firmly on giving young people a traditional academic grounding. Its argument is that this gives every child the best opportunity to go to a top university and gain a well paid job.

There is undoubtedly a great value in ensuring that young people have a thorough understanding of important subjects.

However, it is only one part of an excellent education, and there is a danger that devoting so much of the curriculum to these subjects will restrict the time available for replica oakleys creative and technical subjects, which may better suit the interests and talents of many young people, as well as detracting from other skills it cheap fake oakleys is important to learn.

Schools should have greater freedom to develop their own curriculum Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

We do not disagree with the Government about the value of EBacc subjects. However, we think it is possible to make the choice more flexible and still achieve the same objective. This would leave more room in the timetable for other options which would contribute to the rounded education which will most benefit young people.

What we need to do is ensure that we are equipping young people for life in modern Britain. That means making sure they have skills which match the needs of employers, support and guidance to help them find a fulfilling career, and the resilience to deal with the demands of our high pressure society.

To borrow a phrase used by CBI Director General John Cridland, we need to ensure our education system produces young people who are “rounded and grounded”.

This is important for them and for the country. Having a buy fake oakleys store well trained, and happy, workforce is vital in ensuring Britain’s economic success. GCSEs are important, but they are only one element in this picture, and the intense focus that is being placed on traditional academic achievement is arguably too narrow.

Beyond that, however, we believe it is time for a fundamental change in how we decide what we teach children.

Our view is that a core curriculum should be developed by an expert independent commission, which takes into account the cheap oakleys opinions of school leaders, discounted oakleys employers, parents, governors, teachers and others, and that it should be reviewed once, and only once, every five years.

And, alongside this, schools should have greater freedom to develop their own curriculum, which best suits the talents of their young people, and which innovates and creates.

Traditional academic subjects are sure to be a central feature of any system, but it is time to create a curriculum which takes greater account of the full range of skills our young people require to equip them for life, and one which can better respond to the needs of each individual.