Dated: 12 January 2011
Commenting on the latest GCSE performance figures released today, Miles Templeman, Director General of the Institute of Directors, said:
“Clearly, no single performance measure is flawless; it is impossible to distil into one statistic a representation of the quality or otherwise of an education system. But the fact that fewer than one pupil in six achieved the threshold for the new English Baccalaureate is very worrying and underlines the continuing need for radical reform in education.
“Schools, colleges and universities represent the frontline of the fight for the UK’s future economic competitiveness. To develop the highly skilled workforce businesses increasingly depend on, we must prepare pupils to compete in the global marketplace. That means a resolute and unabashed focus on improving performance across the board.
He added:
“The Coalition Government has made a strong start in its education reform agenda. Its November White Paper contained a welcome emphasis on teaching standards, the extension of autonomy, and improving attainment in the basics. Its proposals for an English Baccalaureate rightly build on the foundations of the qualifications we already have, rather than seeking to reinvent the wheel. What today’s figures illustrate is the scale of the challenge. If our education system is genuinely to match the quality of the best in the world, more of the same manifestly isn’t good enough.”
