Daring to dream: Fewer GCSEs, more life

How a reduced exam load could open the door to a richer curriculum

I don’t know about you, but I think about education reform pretty much all the time. Whenever my wife catches me staring into the mid-distance, lost in thought, she often asks: “Are you thinking about education reform?” The answer is invariably yes.

Perhaps you find this a bit tragic, but I’m perfectly happy with this situation. It’s an ikigai thing.

Anyway, the point is, I’ve been thinking about education reform a lot for a good 20 years or so now. In this post I’d like to alight on two thoughts that have recurred to me the most throughout this period. The first is this:

Secondary schools place far too much emphasis on teaching subject knowledge at the expense of other kinds of learning and development.

I simply cannot emphasise this enough. There is more to human development than learning and memorising a knowledge-rich curriculum. As Professor Mary-Helen Immordino-Yang put it on the Future Learning Design podcast a while back, the central problem is the way in which many teachers view education as synonymous with learning stuff:

The whole notion of learning is a red herring. I don’t talk about learning, throw it out. I’m sick of thinking about learning because learning in our society, the way we conceptualise it, is about semantic recall and procedural recall in a context. Learning is not the aim of school, learning is the means, the aim of school is human development.

I’m a huge admirer of Mary Helens’ work - I strongly believe that understanding the fact that cognition and emotion are inextricably linked is the most important thing teachers and researchers need to get their heads around.

However, I would temper Mary Helen’s message a little here, because I think we’re in danger of slipping into an unhelpful binary distinction of ‘learning vs development’. I think subject-based learning should remain a central feature of school-based education. I also think it’s clear that explicit instruction is the most effective way to teach subjects. But alongside subject-based learning, we should be dedicating a decent chunk of time to other, equally important facets of human development.

In March, England’s ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) published an interim report, which included the following, intriguing sentence:

“In our next phase of work, the Review will consider carefully whether there are opportunities to reduce the overall volume of assessment at key stage 4…”

It remains to be seen where the CAR will land, but to be honest schools don’t need to be told what to do by a panel or a report. We are the system. School leaders already have a huge amount of leeway to do what they think is in the best interests of their learners. I know of no reason why a school couldn’t decide to put their students in for far fewer GCSEs than is currently the case. Most colleges only ask for five GCSEs, which means schools have more freedom than they often realise.

So. Let's dare to dream for a moment. Imagine that in the next few years, following a stamp of approval from the CAR, it becomes the new norm that schools only put their students in for 6 GCSEs (i.e. “your 5 best bets and one for luck”).

This simple, sensible policy change would free up around 6-8 lessons a week in Years 10 and 11. 6-8 lessons a week!!!

What might we do with all this reclaimed time? Well, the obvious suggestion is that we could broaden the curriculum and start teaching other things. Things like:

• Self-directed learning

• Making sense lessons

• Weekly review lessons

• Interdisciplinary learning, such as the Crossfields Level 2 integrative learning quals

• Option blocks with 6-week nano-courses

This last idea I find super interesting, and this brings me to the second thought that has been on a recurring loop in my mind for much of the last 20 years:

Why on earth do we narrow down the range of subjects students can study as they progress through the system? (i.e. 9 at age 14, 3 at age 16, 1 at age 18)? Surely we should be exposing children and young people to as many things as possible in order to help them find their ikigai?

Here’s a rough and ready list of subjects and topics we might consider bringing into secondary schools as 6-week nano-courses. I could happily spend a day writing a paragraph for each with what I think would be a compelling rationale, but I’ll keep the entries brief for now. No doubt this list reflects my own interests and biases, and it is very much offered in that spirit – as a personal conversation starter. I’d love to hear your suggestions and additions!

Artificial intelligence

• AI and ethics

• Comparing different AI models

• How to engage in meaningful dialogue with AI (Prof Rupert Wegerif’s recent posts on developing dialogic intelligence are super interesting here)

• Exploring the limits of AI

• Understanding how AI works and where it’s heading

Business and enterprise (practical know-how - this stuff is best learnt by doing something like Young Enterprise)

• Applying for funding - how and where

• Blogging and social media

• Building a website - do’s and don’ts

• Content strategy

• Events management

• Graphic design

• Leadership and management

• Making and editing films

• Marketing and advertising

• Project management

• Revenue streams

• Running a YouTube channel

• Securing investment

• Starting a business

• Writing for different audiences

Citizenship

• Analysing the media - regularly analysing how different outlets cover the same story

• Animal rights

• Campaigning

• Civil rights

• Equality and fairness

• Ethics

• Government and politics

• Human rights

• International relations

• Journalism

• Law and the justice system

• Making sense of current affairs

• The history of protest

• Tolerance and discrimination

Computing and digital literacy

• Artificial intelligence

• Coding

• Cryptocurrencies

• Cybersecurity

• Ethical hacking

• Internet studies

• Making movies

• Open source software

• Programming

• Robotics

• Web design

Critical thinking and philosophy

• Argumentation

• Consensus building

• Debating

• Finding and evaluating sources

• Giving and receiving feedback

• Logical fallacies

• Philosophical inquiry

• Thinking and reasoning

Health, wellbeing and practical skills

• Bicycle repair and maintenance

• Cooking healthy meals on a budget

• First aid and medicine

• Growing food

• Managing your finances

• Mental health

• Parenting skills

• Physical health

• Public speaking

• Self-regulation

• Shorthand

• Touch typing

Learning about learning

• Cognitive psychology

• Cognitive science

• Goal setting

• Habit formation

• How to find reputable sources on the internet

• Managing change

• Managing your own learning

• Meta-memory

• Motivation

• Note taking

• Overcoming procrastination

• Philosophy of education

• Relational learning

• Saying no (making space, having boundaries)

• Setting and achieving goals

Miscellaneous taster courses

• Astronomy

• Calligraphy

• Classics

• Criminology

• Economics

• Electronics

• History of art

• Mythology

• Psychology

• Sociology

Personal and social development

• Conflict resolution

• Digital wellbeing

• Emotional literacy

• Identity and self-awareness

• Neurodiversity

• Parenting skills

• Relationships and communication

Practical business skills

• Applying for funding

• Blogging and social media

• Building a professional website

• Content strategy

• Customer relations

• Events management

• Graphic design

• Leadership and management

• Making and editing films

• Marketing and advertising

• Project management

• Revenue streams

• Running a YouTube channel

• Securing investment

• Starting a business

• Writing for different audiences

Spirituality, meaning and wisdom

• Death and grief

• Mindfulness and meditation

• Wisdom traditions from around the world

• World religions and belief systems

The future of humanity

• Climate science and sustainability

• Futures thinking

• Regenerative agriculture

• Space exploration and colonisation

Understanding the economy

• Credit and debt

• Exchange rates

• Inflation

• Interest rates

• Investments and risk

• Money creation

• Tax and pensions

• Types of banking

• Types of companies

Work and the real world

• Careers education

• Professional etiquette

• Understanding the gig economy

• Work experience

• Workers’ rights

What might this look like in practice?

This isn’t intended as an exhaustive list – it’s more of a menu than an implementation plan. Obviously, no school could cover all of this in an ongoing way. But we could find ways to bring more of such things into schools - and I think it would be super popular among students.

As I say, the obvious mechanism is to introduce a range of nano-courses – short, focused modules offered at different levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced), so students could either deepen their knowledge over time or sample a wide variety of topics.

No doubt an ecosystem of providers would soon spring into existence, offering off-the-shelf courses in all kinds of things. The quality of these would naturally vary, but overall I think this would be a wonderful thing.

Perhaps even more exciting is the idea that teachers themselves might design courses on topics they’re passionate about. This should not be required, but time and support should be made available for those who choose to pursue it.

For what it’s worth, I think these nano-courses should include optional assessments for students who want to take things further (i.e. go on to the intermediate or advanced levels), build a portfolio, or evidence their learning. But assessment shouldn’t be mandatory, and it should certainly not be seen as high-stakes. Curiosity and exploration should be the driving force behind this more expansive section of the school curriculum.

There are plenty more practical questions about how a broader curriculum might work. We don’t need to solve them all now. The first question to answer is not how, but why. To answer this question, ask any parent or child the following question:

If a local school offered a broad curriculum like this, with regular opportunities to choose from a wide range of subjects – some taught, some self-directed – would you choose to go there?