Scrap GCSEs and A-Levels and focus on new ‘four Cs’ says Tony Blair

GCSEs and A-Levels should be scrapped in favour of new assessments targeting the four Cs – collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity – Tony Blair has said.

The former Prime Minister has called for radical reform which would see “ridiculously high stake” exams replaced by a new qualification at 18.

A report published today says pupils in England are poorly prepared for the workplace, leaving them lagging behind other countries.

The study, released by the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) also calls for the National Curriculum to be shaken up and placed into the hands of a “non-political” body, and accuses the government of having no plan to deal with lower grades among disadvantaged children.

It said qualifications should be awarded on the back of low-stakes assessments rather than direct instruction and memorising.

James Scales, skills policy lead at the institute, said: “Young people in England are receiving an analogue education in a digital age and leaving school ill-prepared for the workplace.

“While pupils elsewhere are learning how to think critically, communicate and solve problems as a group, our system remains anchored firmly in the past. This is holding back our young people and the country as a whole.”

The report says that students will need to adapt to “new and unexpected” situations, communicate with people from a range of backgrounds and deal with ethical dilemmas, adding: “These capabilities cannot be fostered simply by instilling in pupils a narrow pool of traditional knowledge and hoping for the best.”

It says “radical” education reforms under the Tories were the “wrong turn at the wrong time”, stating: “While the world was changing, they doubled down on the basics – a strategy that might have made more sense in the past but no longer befits the needs of our modern world.”

Referencing concerns that schools have become “exam factories”, it has called for a system that draws on the International Baccalaureate, which is more reliant on coursework than final exams.

Reform would not amount to “diluting standards or letting coasting schools get away with low performance”, the institute said.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the report adds to growing calls for “fresh thinking” on qualifications, the curriculum and inspection “to remove the clutter of over-burdened timetables, reduce the ridiculously high-stakes nature of the current system, and, most importantly, make sure that it works better for all children and young people”.

He said reform is needed because “at the current rate of progress the attainment gap between disadvantaged and other children will never close”.

He added: “We need a system which looks to the future rather than one which is rooted in the past.”