Does the Education System Need to Change Tahnee Gangi Reddy Newstead Wood School

Currently, students sit a board exam (GCSEs) at Year 11 for 10 (sometimes nine) subject from around 15 in year 9. This means they choose 3-4 subjects out of 9 subjects to takefor GCSEs. For most schools, they limit the options you can take, for example: some schools say you must take a language, you can’t take more than one creative subject (Art,DT, music, Drama, PE). These limits – some students think –  are unnecessary since students should be allowed to pick what they enjoy

“What happens if a student wants to pursue a career in which more than one creative subject is involved”, as Pragnya Vutukuri so adeptly puts it.

The problems do start there, when struggling to decide what options to pick, but when students get to year 10 worrying about whether their school is going to finish all the topics in time. Many struggle to revise whilst learning and recapping the topics their school is doing currently.

A solution to this problem would be to start GCSE preparation in year 9, so students and teachers get more time to do topics in the GCSE syllabus, and they are not rushed. Some schools, like St Olaves already do this, and the students seem to benefit.

Ileesha De Silva says – “I think school would be a lot easier if we had more time, so starting our GCSEs in year 9 instead of year 10 would definitely help.”

Another problem with the way things are taught at school are tests. While most students agree tests are necessary, most also think that having them more spread out would make matters easier. Most students agree that tests come in spikes, the amount of tests increase at the end of each half term. It would put less pressure on students if there was a system in place to make these more spread out.

So, while the education system in this country is certainly free, and decent, it could still be improved to make learning easier for everyone in the UK.