Bedales approach highlighted in The Times

In a letter published in The Times on 9 May, Head of Bedales Will Goldsmith responds to the Social Market Foundation paper which suggests GCSEs have become "bloated" and need reform.

Will highlights the Bedales approach, where many GCSEs have been swapped with the School's own Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs), offering "greater flexibility in selecting content and deploying a broader range of assessments".

He continues: "We also reduce the high stakes of these qualifications, taken by pupils aged between 14 and 16, by keeping them in-house with no external accreditation (our students pursue education to the age of 18 so do not need an “exit ticket” at 16), maintaining rigour through visiting moderators."

Will also mentions the extra learning time clawed back by reducing the number of external exams taken by 16-year-olds. Many educationalists and innovating schools have joined the Rethinking Assessment group which calling for reform, and offering alternative approaches to the GCSE curriculum and assessments that are increasingly seen as outdated and falling behind other education systems internationally.

Read Will's letter here (subscription required).