Press Release
Date: Monday 18 October 2004 (NR/26/04)
GCSEs and A levels remain top class qualifications
Responding to the publication of the report of the Working Group on 14-19 Reform in England, local education body, CCEA has said: “GCSEs and A levels remain top class qualifications highly regarded by students, teachers, universities and employers. We must be careful that any attempt to replace them brings measurable improvements to the whole system”
The 14 – 19 Working Group, chaired by Mike Tomlinson, has made a series of recommendations for a new qualifications structure in England, including the phasing out of A levels and GCSEs and the introduction of a Diploma. The new system is to be in place by 2014.
CCEA is the body responsible for advising government on future qualifications and examinations arrangements in Northern Ireland. Chief Executive Gavin Boyd commented:
“CCEA is committed to ensuring that Northern Ireland has a top class qualifications system that gives our young people the opportunity to achieve through a range of relevant and challenging pathways.”
“We have been closely following the work of Mike Tomlinson’s working group over the past two years and have already made a number of contributions to the debate. But while it is absolutely right that we should continue to check that our qualifications structure is fit for purpose, it should not be presumed that the changes being put forward today will automatically take place here in Northern Ireland.
CCEA has spent time in recent months speaking to teachers, business leaders and other interested groups in Northern Ireland as to how the 14 – 19 qualifications structure might be developed here. We are due to send a report to the Minister for Education by the end of the year.”
Mr Boyd continued:
“Much of what is being proposed by Mike Tomlinson and his working group is aimed at broadening the choice and range of experiences and qualifications available to young people. This is certainly an approach with which we would agree.
In Northern Ireland we are on the verge of implementing a new curriculum that puts an increased emphasis on giving young people the knowledge and skills they will need to become successful as individuals, as citizens and as contributors to the economy and the environment.
In the near future Learning for Life and Work will become a compulsory part of the post-primary curriculum. Added to that CCEA has been at the centre of developing and launching a series of new work related qualifications at a range of levels. With this work already well underway to broaden the portfolio of post-14 qualifications we need to carefully consider, along with the rest of our education partners, how developments in this area should best be taken forward in Northern Ireland.”
Media enquiries to Ruth Maguire on (028) 9026 1216, Mobile 07796947993. E mail rhmaguire@ccea.org.uk
ENDS
Note to Editors
CCEA is the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
CCEA places learners and those who have a concern for their educational and personal development at the forefront of its thinking. CCEA's mission is:
"To enable the full potential of all learners to be achieved and recognised"
What we do
CCEA is a unique educational body in the UK , bringing together the three areas of curriculum, examinations and assessment.
Advising Government – on what should be taught in Northern Ireland ’s schools and colleges.
Monitoring Standards – ensuring that the qualifications and examinations offered by awarding bodies in Northern Ireland are of an appropriate quality and standard.
Awarding Qualifications
– as Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body we offer a diverse range of qualifications, such as GCSEs, including the new GCSE Double Award specifications in vocational subjects, GCE A and AS levels, Entry Level Qualifications, and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages.
- CCEA also offers a range of Awards and Certificates in Education, Training and Skills (ACETS) targeted at learners who want to get
the knowledge, understanding and skills needed
to hit the ground running in the world of work.
