Sir, Libby Purves raises an interesting issue relevant to continuing debates about problems in our education system when she writes of the “plodding, dreary business” of GCSE coursework (“Neeeoww! Let’s stick up for boisterous boys”, Opinion, Aug 31).
Quite simply, much of the current curriculum is dull and utterly lacking in intellectually stimulating content, a situation that is largely the result of an overemphasis on acheiving grades rather than expanding the mind. The bickering about league tables (letters, Aug 31) is illustrative of that particular problem.
The empty tedium of the school curriculum is not only limiting for pupils, however, it deters would-be teachers, too. The Government and exam boards would do well to reflect on this when the current system is reformed.
Michael White
Edinburgh
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Sir, Libby Purves highlights how recent trends in education are blatantly failing many of our more able students. I am retired but I have a membership and a fellowship from one of the royal colleges of surgeons. These qualifications were heavily biased towards exam and viva voce assessments. One could be asked about any part of the syllabus, no matter how insignificant. To succeed, a depth and a breadth of knowledge of subjects were paramount. Weaknesses were soon exposed — there was nowhere to hide, you had to think on your feet. This favoured the competent and widely read candidate who saw and understood the whole picture.
Later, I completed a BA, MBA and a PhD in business studies; the first two of these degrees involved a totally different system of candidate assessment. The degrees were almost devoid of examinations or vivas — political correctness ruled and discriminated against the competent. The less able students could hide because in the first week we were given the module assignments for that term. They had to be handed in by a predetermined date. It is not rocket science to deduce that large tracts of the syllabus could be almost ignored and that organised students got together to discuss the essay questions before going their own ways to prepare and write their essays.
Despite my fellow students having a poor grasp of the subject, they were often awarded high grades. The best students, who had a good functional in-depth knowledge, were often not recognised. The whole system seemed to favour the less able but superficially organised goodie who could avoid the heat of exams.
Exam-free assessment methods aid those with a poor understanding of the total syllabus. The often used reason of exam nerves is totally flawed; unacceptable as it might be to many ideologists, education has endorsed an accepted and convenient excuse for the less able students.
It is little wonder that grades continue to improve year on year, the boy-girl gap gets wider, and yet it is obvious to all that dumbing- down continues. The whole ethos of our education system should be revisited and, increasingly, assessment under strict examination systems should become the norm. It would restore the gifted students to their rightful place and society would benefit from it.
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Professor David Thomas
Tettenhall, W Midlands