End of modular examinations 'would damage pupils' self esteem'

December 24 2010

A move towards end-of-year exams and away from a modular system of testing would damage pupils' self esteem, it has been suggested.

According to Simon Spiers, head teacher at King Alfred's School in Wantage, near Oxford, changes proposed by education secretary Michael Gove would constitute a backwards step.

In a letter to Mr Gove seen by the Oxford Mail, Mr Spiers said the modular system was beneficial as it allowed children a second chance, while the end-of-year exam "set people up to fail".

He said the reforms, billed as a return to traditional values, would turn the clock back to the 1960s.

"This 'traditional' approach to academic study caused huge numbers of students to leave school with feelings of failure, a lack of self esteem and unable to find work after years in an education system which favoured bright students," he wrote, the news provider reports.

In its white paper 'the Importance of Teaching', the government also announced plans to create more academies and free schools.

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