Rishi Sunak’s desire to overhaul A-levels was denounced as an “undeliverable gimmick” by Labour and met with scepticism by school leaders who said funding and teacher shortages were far more urgent concerns.
A series of news reports claim the prime minister is planning changes to what students in England are taught after GCSEs, including compulsory maths and English classes as part of a broader “British baccalaureate” qualification.
But although it has been mooted several times in the past year, few details have emerged to flesh out what may end up as a policy in the Conservative party’s election manifesto.
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, accused Sunak of creating uncertainty: “I think many parents hearing this will be saying: look, at the moment we don’t have enough maths teachers in our secondary schools. At the moment many schools are closed or not functioning properly because the roofs might fall in.”
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, said: “This is just the latest undeliverable gimmick from a weak prime minister and a dying Conservative government with no serious plan for improving standards of education for young people.”
So far discussions over what a sixth form baccalaureate may contain appear confined to Downing Street, with little or no involvement from the Department for Education or Gillian Keegan, the education secretary for England.
James Kewin, the deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said the government’s biggest priorities should be increasing investment and improving teacher recruitment rather than radical curriculum changes.
