Norfolk school defends A-levels

It's the last day of term at Wymondham College in Norfolk before the Easter break. A-level students here used the morning to cram in some extra revision. Among their fears for the future, easy exams aren't high on the list.

But it is a top concern for university lecturers, according to a survey by Cambridge Assessment, a department of Cambridge University. This found sixty percent of lecturers are having to teach school leavers remedial classes in basic essay writing skills, grammar, and critical thinking.

Dr Sean Lang, a senior lecturer in History at Anglia Ruskin University, is among those having to teach catch up classes to undergraduates. He told Anglia News that A-levels are a watered down version of their former selves. He believes they were made too easy in 2000 when the government introduced a modular system that allows students to re-take exams multiple times until they pass. He also believes that the curriculum for arts subjects is far too narrow:

But at Wymondham College, students believe that getting into university is not the only purpose of their A-level exams.

18 year old Emily Anthony is planning a career in the sports industry and hopes to bypass further education altogether. She already struggles with A-levels and doesn't believe they should be made even harder.

And her classmate Jordan Cadmanrivers who hopes to study Business at Sheffield University, believes tougher A-levels would mean less time for sport, drama and extra-curricular activities.

The Principal at Wymondham College, Melvyn Roffe agrees. He also thinks universities should put their own house in order before criticising schools.

Disagreements over what should go into A-levels and how they should be taught are only likely to get more intense. The Education Secretary Michael Gove today voiced his concern that A-levels don't prepare school leavers for the rigours of taking a degree. He added that he would like to see universities have more of a say over A-levels' content. A likely sign that yet more changes to the education system lie ahead.