EBacc | Schools Week

GCSEs: What ministers said in response to Lords’ reform calls

DfE rejects calls to scrap the EBacc and for wider reform, but sets out some of its thinking on the issue

The key trends in 2023 GCSE and A-level entries

Boost in popularity for maths, computing and classical subjects, but language and creative subjects in trouble

What does Burnham’s new ‘MBacc’ qualification mean for schools?

Proposals for the ‘MBacc’, which will steer pupils towards technical training in Greater Manchester, have put the mayor on a collision course with ministers

Nine things we learned from Ofsted’s latest education recovery research

The watchdog found schools struggling with staff shortages, unclear Covid measures and identifying learning gaps

7 policies from Pearson to make exams fit for the future

Exam board advocates changes to performance measures and a rethink of the English and maths resit policy following major inquiry

Treasury marks DfE’s 11,500-word homework laying out its vision

The Department for Education has published an 11,590-word “outcome delivery plan,” detailing the wide-ranging goals and performance metrics it agreed with the Treasury last year to justify its funding. Sector leaders welcomed the move to greater transparency and accountability. But they said the DfE’s plan lacked detail overall and lacked metrics in significant areas, including […]

Gibb: ‘Challenge’ schools with low EBacc entries to address ‘unequal opportunities’

Schools with low EBacc entries must be “challenged” to address “unequal opportunities” in the system, Nick Gibb has said. The schools minister told MPs this morning that the government needed to “double down” on its reforms since 2010, as he warned some settings still had very low take-up of the EBacc suite of academic subjects. […]

Barred: Teachers in challenging schools shut out of DfE schemes over EBacc rates

Teachers in the most challenging schools are being barred from shaping policy or sharing their expertise as government limits access to its schemes based on EBacc entry rates. Analysis by Schools Week has found at least five Department for Education initiatives where a quota of pupils entered into the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was part of […]

GCSE results: ‘Bleak’ and ‘worrying’ drop in non-EBacc subjects

Today’s GCSE results reveal a further drop in non-English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects, with union heads expressing concern over the “worrying” and bleak” future of creative subjects. Across England, entries in EBacc subjects this year are up 3.8 per cent to 4,132,068, with entries in non-EBacc subjects down a huge 8.7 per cent to 943,607. However […]