This man was given the job of sorting out our education system. Does he get full marks?

IT IS a headline to gladden the heart of any self-respecting schoolboy. No more A-levels, and no more GCSEs. Hurrah! School's out!

Except that it is not. Tony Blair himself has already stressed that A-levels are here to stay.

And while the blueprint for exam reform published yesterday by former Chief Inspector of Schools Mike Tomlinson may well ultimately spell the end for the GCSE and the A-level as we know them, sadly for all exam-hating youngsters, they will simply be absorbed into something else. A new four-level school diploma.

Mr Tomlinson's proposals are billed as amounting to the most radical shake-up of English education for half a century.

The main points in his plan include:

A new four-level diploma to replace GCSEs and A-Levels;

Scrapping the coursework system and most external exams that pupils now take at GCSE level - youngsters would be largely assessed in school by teachers.

Everyone will have to pass a "core" element including "functional" maths, English and computing in order to get a diploma.

The A-Level stage exams should be made more challenging for the brightest students, who will be able to study the equivalent of first year degree level courses and could be awarded new grades of A+ and A++.

But with schools already reeling from a relentless procession of reforms since the mid-1980s (see panel) and unions warning that teachers are "weary of change", do we need yet more tinkering in our schools? After all, the last time a major overhaul of A-levels was attempted - the introduction of AS and A2 exams four years ago - thousands of papers had to be re-marked following a row over allegations that the grades were fixed.

Well, yes, we do, according to Richard Andrews, professor of education at the University of York. The status quo in our schools can not continue much longer, he says. The exam system is failing too many pupils who are less academic - and it is also failing universities, who desperately need to be able to differentiate more between the brightest and the best candidates at A-level.

Tomlinson's proposals were produced by the former chief inspector of schools after he was asked by the Government to draw up detailed plans for the future of 14-19 education. So how do they measure up?

As yet they are only proposals: and even if they do receive Government approval it will take up to ten years to institute all the reforms. Ultimately, however, they could amount to the biggest shake-up of our education system for decades, with a "back to basics" approach on literacy and numeracy, greater emphasis on relevant vocational courses for the less academically able, and more involvement by teachers in assessment. Here are the main suggestions:

The diploma

The new diploma would have two elements - "core learning" and "main learning".

Core learning would be about "getting the basics right" and would be designed to make sure students gain "a mastery of functional maths, functional literacy and communication and ICT (information and communication technology)".

The main learning element would make up most of students' work. Individuals could follow study programmes that reflect their own personal interests and goals and they would have access to high quality, work-related education.

The diploma would be taken at four levels: entry; foundation (roughly equivalent to GCSE grades D to G); intermediate grades (GCSE grades A+ to C); and advanced (A levels).

Mr Tomlinson said there should be 15 to 20 "lines of learning" which students would follow. These would cover a range of academic and work-related disciplines, with developing "relevant" vocational programmes held to be "absolutely vital". Every child would have access to all courses.

Testing

GCSEs: One of the biggest shifts would be in the way 16-year-olds are tested. The Tomlinson report says GCSEs take up too much time in preparing for exams and mark a widely perceived cut-off point from school education, encouraging students to drop out rather than continue their education.

Under the proposals, existing GCSE-style exams would be scrapped and "teacher-led" assessment would be the main way of testing students. Some external testing would continue, particularly in core elements of the diploma.

This would help reduce "the burden of assessment" where an average student now takes about 40 public exams between the ages of 16 and 18.

A-levels: The system of six units to make up an A-level would be reduced to four. In order to make sure the cleverest students are stretched, the more difficult Advanced Extension Award course would be included into the current A-level system.

To make it easier for universities to spot the brightest students, all candidates would be given detailed transcripts alongside their diploma awards and, at the advanced level, some would be given new grades of A+ and A++.

Reducing external assessment could save the £60 million spent on moderators and examiners for GCSEs and GNVQ courses, according to Mr Tomlinson. It would not see the abolition of external examinations altogether, and there would still need to be some system of ensuring that the grades awarded by different schools and regions were comparable.

Mr Tomlinson said the main core courses would still be assessed externally and it would be determined "subject by subject" which were to be assessed by teachers.

League tables could remain, but in a different format.

Vocational courses

Mr Tomlinson said one of the challenges of the new system was to change the "very deep-rooted" ideas about vocational education.

He said some people had the attitude that vocational courses were a good idea but "not for their children". "We need to change these assumptions ... and provide a very high quality level of vocational education within the diploma system," he said.

"There must be a high quality education with a clear progression to the higher levels of a diploma."

Reforms that never stop rolling

Teachers and pupils have had to adjust to a seemingly relentless procession of reforms over recent years.

In 1986, the two-tier system of exams for 16-year-olds was abolished in what was then the biggest shake-up for more than a decade. O-Levels (Ordinary) and CSEs (Certificates of Secondary Education) were merged into GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education). Pupils sat the first GCSEs exams in 1988.

Tests (which became known as SATs) for seven-year-olds at Key Stage One were introduced for maths and English in 1991.

Two years later, more SATs in English, maths and science were brought in, this time for 14-year-olds at the end of Key Stage 3.

In 1995, English, maths and science SATs were introduced for 11-year-olds.

In September 2000, the traditional A level (Advanced) qualification for 17 and 18-year-olds was split in two, becoming the AS (Advanced Subsidiary) and the A2. The A level is now made up of three AS level units pitched at slightly below full A level standard and three A2 units.

During the first year the new A-level exams were taken - 2002 - the pass rate jumped by more than four per cent. At the same time, there were claims that some students' work had been marked down to stop allegations that the exams were getting easier.

In 2002 the Government introduced new GCSEs in vocational subjects.

In September 2004, ministers announced that the national curriculum tests for seven-year-olds would be toned down. Children will no longer have their test marks issued separately from their teachers' overall assessment.

LOCAL REACTIONS: "No real need for further reform."

Response to the proposals locally has been mixed. Unions broadly welcome the scheme, while stressing that the implications for teacher workloads need to be thought through.

"It is manifestly obvious that not every child suits the kind of exam system we have at the moment," said Barrie Ferguson, secretary of the York branch of the National Association of Schoolmasters/ Union of Women Teachers.

The reforms would hopefully mean fewer teenagers dropping off the bottom of the system, he said. But the changes would need to be resourced; and if teachers were going to assume more responsibility for assessment, the level of bureaucracy they had to cope with would need to be reduced.

Richard Andrews, professor of education at the University of York, said he had not studied the proposals in detail. "But on initial impressions, I would say thumbs up. I don't believe the status quo could continue for much longer, and the broadening of the curriculum for 14-19 year-olds can only be of benefit to students," he said.

Carol Runciman, executive member for education on City of York Council, said the proposed changes were significant. "It could work well if everybody is signed up to it, but my worry would be that there would be some schools who'd stick with the A-Level system as is because it's always been promoted as the gold standard," she said.

"I realise Tomlinson thinks it should be done over a number of years and that's sensible, but the challenge will be to get people away from the A-Level as the best option and also for employers to understand it."

Chris Bridge, head teacher of Huntington School, said he felt there was no real need for further reform, but accepted it was going to happen. He welcomed the emphasis on core skills - particularly on literacy - but said he would really like to see the replacement of the three exam boards with a single board. That would simplify the system and reduce unfairness.

Brian Crosby, head teacher at Manor School, also had his doubts. "I think for the vast majority of our students the system we have is working," he said. "I think what they are trying to do is modify the system for the ones for whom it's not working. I am just concerned that the parts of the present system that are working are not lost."

Tony Gavin, head teacher at Burnholme College, welcomed the report, however. "I like the flexibility of the Tomlinson report," he said. "I like the idea of an over-all qualification. Many students in York are now going into work-related vocational learning courses and some of those at the moment are not accredited and don't count for anything.

"I also like the idea of "super-A-Levels" for the high achievers."

Joseph Rowntree's head, Hugh Porter, added: "I welcome it, but I recognise it is going to take a long time to implement.

"Some of the things I think are good about it are the diploma that recognises a range of qualifications and experiences as different children excel in different ways.

"I also like the idea that all children should have functional maths and English and that teachers are being trusted with the assessment. At the moment we are suffering from over-assessment of children and the system is creaking at the seams."

Updated: 09:57 Tuesday, October 19, 2004