The AS examination results will be returning to schools all across the nation next week, where they are both anticipated and feared. Hinchley Wood School in particular will be stuck in a state of terror for the next week, following the assembly announcement on the 3rd. A student of the school, Miss Watkins, states that “I thought I did alright, but I’m still going to be jumpy when finding out”. This is one of the least panicky reactions, others using words such as ‘pointlessly stressful’, ‘life consuming’, and my personal favourite ‘pure evil’. Therefore I think it is clear that the education system has been putting to much emphasis on exams, and not enough on coursework.

We have now become the country with the most test based education system in the western world. Could this be due to the education reforms introduced in 1997? It is quite likely. Furthermore, the reforms in question (largely supported by prominent labour politicians including Tony Blair) have failed to meet their target of 50% of children moving onto higher education (such as universities) by 2010. Although, there has been some remarkable improvements in exam grades achieved by students. This is most prominent in female as boys GCSE grades are currently far behind girls, being at the level female results were seven years ago. It is important to consider whether our schools are better or worse under this new regime.