Exam Reform

Rob Wilson Excerpts

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I see no age cap, and I stress that one of the things that has been very encouraging during the course of today is that a number of schools have suggested that they would like to pilot this qualification even earlier than the planned start date. I hope that we can build up a degree of consensus behind exactly what it is that we propose to introduce and that the schools that are enthusiastic about it are able to make sure that students who do not get a good pass at 16 have the chance to do so at 17 or 18.

[Mr Rob Wilson (Reading East) (Con)]

May I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and congratulate him on being a real education reformer? He will know that introducing an exam with higher standards that rejects grade inflation will mean more schools failing to meet the minimum standards. Does he agree that it is better to know the failures in our schools and put them right? Does he agree that it is better to know the details?

[Michael Gove]

I do not believe that there is a necessary link between making sure that exams are more rigorous and more schools failing. My experience of all highly successful schools is that they use outside encouragement to do even better, and higher standards set from the centre as an opportunity to raise their performance, but I agree that greater clarity and honesty about how students and schools are performing is an absolute precondition for improving outcomes for everyone.