Michael Gove

Gove’s great GCSE leap forward

New Labour’s education policies relied too heavily on targets and stripped academic subjects of content. Now, Michael Gove’s GCSE reforms mean pupils in England will no longer be working to make politicians look good Read more

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Why Mr Always Right is wrong

For Education Secretary Michael Gove, every critic of his reforms is an ‘enemy of promise’. But there’s a reason he can’t carry the profession with him. Read more

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Schools spending: could do better

The schools spending ringfence should be removed, to ease up the pressure on other departments. And there’s evidence that educational standards need not suffer Read more

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What, no new education bills?

The absence of any new education legislation in the Queen’s Speech was no bad thing. Michael Gove has introduced more than enough radical changes that need time and support to bed in Read more

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Thatcher: the real deal

Neither the brickbats nor bouquets being thrown at the memory of Margaret Thatcher accurately reflect her record Read more

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Michael Gove: what U-turn?

The Education Secretary’s climbdown on the English Baccalaureate Certificate was less of a reversal than it appeared. Most of his plans for reforming GCSEs remain intact Read more

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Get with the programme, Gove

In an increasingly complex world, the education secretary needs to look less to the past and modernise his approach to schools Read more

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Education’s squeezed middle tier

A report launched at today’s Lib Dem conference shows  ‘middle tier’ bodies have been squeezed out of education, centralising power in the hands of the education secretary  Read more

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GCSEs and the limits of Welsh devolution

Vested interests are likely to prevent Wales from following England’s lead in abolishing GCSEs. But, as a result, Welsh pupils could find it harder to gain employment or university places Read more

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Return of O levels: could grammars be next?

The abolition of GCSEs is long overdue and will help the UK to produce future leaders. But we need to go further and reintroduce an education system based on selection by ability Read more

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