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11 April 2026

Tag: EBacc

Plans for new engineering A-level to recruit more creative students are dropped

Proposals to develop a new engineering A-level have been dropped, Schools Week can reveal, as more A-levels bite the dust. Schools Week reported last year that the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) had submitted plans to develop a more creative engineering A-level to exam board Pearson, in an attempt to encourage more girls into undergraduate […]

EBacc results 2016: Languages and art entries fall, while science soars

The government has released provisional key stage 4 data this morning that reveals how schools have fared in new headline accountability measures. The data includes figures on the new Progress and Attainment 8 measures (our analysis here) and also provides an update on EBacc figures. Here we round up the key findings from the EBacc […]

Progress 8 results 2016: Key findings from the first national data release

The government has published analysis of provisional GCSE results data which shows for the first time national analysis of Progress 8 scores and other measures in its new accountability system for schools. From this year, schools are judged based on their attainment 8 and progress 8 scores, attainment in English and maths and the number of […]

Greening’s first education questions: Green paper ‘will help’ SEN pupils, and four other things we learned

The government’s new(ish) education team faced its first proper grilling in Parliament this afternoon during the first education questions since Justine Greening’s appointment. Buoyed by the new additions to its own team, Labour went on the attack over grammar schools and funding, while Greening and her ministerial colleagues were forced to defend some of their reforms against criticism from […]

UTC architect Lord Baker slams government over ‘narrow’ EBacc

The architect of the University Technical College (UTC) model has launched a scathing attack on the government’s “narrow” English Baccalaureate (EBacc), slamming it as a “missed opportunity” to fulfil the prime minister’s vision for social mobility. Lord Kenneth Baker, former education secretary and founder of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust set up to promote the […]

A-level results 2016: Figures suggest EBacc might not be driving drop in creative subjects

A drop in pupils studying some creative subjects has been linked to the government’s EBacc accountability measure squeezing students out of the arts – but data analysis by Schools Week suggests this may not be the driving the drop. A-level figures released today have revealed “worrying” decreases in the number of pupils across the UK taking […]

Design and technology: 87 MPs demand inclusion of subject in EBacc

Pupils should be able to choose between computer science and design and technology as part of the EBacc, almost 90 MPs have said in a letter to the government. Conservative MP Michelle Donelan has secured the support of 87 MPs for a change which would allow schools to offer GCSE design and technology as a […]

Disadvantaged pupils benefit from swift EBacc changes, research finds

Schools that swiftly overhauled their curriculum to meet the government’s English Baccalaureate (EBacc) when it was first introduced boosted results for their most disadvantaged pupils, a new report has found. The report, released today by the Sutton Trust and compiled by Education Datalab, compared a sample of 300 schools that vastly increased the proportion of […]