Government and Ofqual to make major change to GCSEs for September 2028 | UK | News

The government will work to reduce GCSE exam time for the average student from two-and-a-half hours to three hours, following a curriculum review that found current exam volume is ‘excessive’. The final report of the curriculum and assessment review commissioned by Labor last year suggested the Government should reduce exam volume at key stage 4 by 10%.

The review also recommended new maths and English tests to be taken throughout Year 8 to help teachers identify learning gaps early, and a revamp of compulsory citizenship and key stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling testing in primary schools.

In response, the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed it would accept the review’s recommendation to scrap the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure introduced by Michael Gove and introduce a legal right for all GCSE students to study triple sciences.

Curriculum review leader Professor Becky Francis told reporters: “We are an international outlier in terms of the number of exams and the volume of exams, we are 16, only Singapore is close to us.” He added: “So we want to try to bring that down.

“As anyone who is a parent of GCSE age students knows, it is a very busy and long time but we don’t want to trade off standards and reliability.” The report itself also said: “The amount of time young people spend on exams at key stage 4 has become excessive.”

The DfE said it would work with regulator Ofqual and exam boards to reduce GCSE exam time while ensuring qualifications remain reliable. The government plans to announce the revised national curriculum by spring 2027, with implementation planned to begin in primary education from September 2028.

EBacc, a school performance measure designed to ensure students are learning English, maths, science, humanities and languages ​​at GCSE, was launched in 2010 under the then Education Secretary, Mr Gove.

“It is clear that (EBacc) performance measures unduly restrict students’ choices to some extent,” the review’s final report said. “This affected their participation and achievement and limited their access to and time for arts and vocational subjects.”

But Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott accused the Government of ‘educational vandalism’ and warned that the reforms would result in fewer students studying history and languages ​​after the age of 14.

The review also suggested that a revised grammar, punctuation and spelling assessment at primary level should focus on students successfully applying grammar in their writing, rather than requiring them to memorize grammatical structures such as prepositional adverbs.

Besides this, the ministry said it would instruct the Standards and Testing Agency to modify the test to better reflect the practical application of grammar and punctuation. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, welcomed this but said it was ‘extremely disappointing that the opportunity to reduce unnecessary primary school testing has been missed’.

The DfE has also announced it will overhaul Progress 8, which assesses schools based on pupils’ progress from the completion of key stage 2 to their GCSEs. Citizenship will become compulsory in primary education to ensure that all children have access to climate education, as well as education in financial and media literacy, democratic processes and governance.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), welcomed the review’s recommendations to shorten GCSE time, scrap the EBacc and reform key stage 2 testing.

In its response, the DfE also confirmed that it would be exploring the possibility of a new 16-18 data science and AI qualification that would replace the current computer science GCSE, and a new language qualification that would sit alongside GCSE and A level.

It has already announced the introduction of a statutory reading test in Year 8 and will also outline rights to enrichment activities designed to ensure all children have access to the arts, nature, the outdoors, sport and wider life skills development.

The government will publish a set of enrichment criteria for schools and Ofsted inspectors will assess whether these standards are being met.

Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said: “It’s been more than a decade since the national curriculum was updated and it’s more important than ever that young people are equipped to face today’s challenges so they can seize the exciting opportunities life has to offer.”

The review also recommended new level 1 English and maths qualifications for lower-level students aged 16 to 19, aimed at helping them prepare to sit GCSE exams again. This measure has already been announced in the Government’s Post-16 and Skills White Paper.

Professor Francis told a conference of school trust leaders in October that a more nuanced approach was needed ‘rather than an inflexible approach’ to English and maths exams for post-16 students.

In July 2024, just weeks after winning the general election, the government launched a review of the curriculum and assessment in schools and colleges.

A panel of experts reviewed a variety of evidence, including more than 7,000 public responses.