Thursday 21 August 2003
GCSE results NUT reaction
Commenting on the slight improvementoverall in GCSE results this year, Doug McAvoy, NUT General Secretary, said:
Again this is evidence of the overwhelmingsuccess of young people at GCSE. Inevitably it becomes harder and harder foroverall achievement to rise year on year. But against the odds, overallachievement has shown another increase, albeit slight.
The GCSE exam has proved its worth. Anychanges to examinations considered by Government advisers have to take intoaccount that success and the stability of GCSE as an exam.
The overall message from the results mustbe if it aint broke dont fix it. Governments must learn to conserve what isgood and the GCSE is just that. Over the years it has ensured that young peoplework consistently hard throughout the two years and demonstrate theirachievements in depth across a wide curriculum.
Sadly, there has been a marginal declinein the proportion of young people gaining a certificate at GCSE. TheGovernments demand that a minimum of 15 per cent of all young people in eachschool gain five A-C grades has inevitably resulted in resources being targetedat those most likely to meet the Governments aim.
EN D PR.61/03
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