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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Emma Drury

GCSE reforms: out of date or on the money?

Exam in progress
Single exams will replace coursework from 2015 - what do you think of the plans so far? Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

So, messrs Gove and Clegg have joined forces to launch plans for the replacement for the GCSE exam system. Gove will be officially describing the new system at 3.30pm to the House of Commons but already Clegg has said ahead of the announcement that the new exam will "increase rigour and confidence in the system."

Out of the window goes coursework and in will come a single exam. There will be only one exam board and fewer students will achieve the higher grades - probably around 10% of pupils will be awarded a grade one. Under the current system around a third of pupils are awarded A or A* grades.

We first got wind of the move to replace GCSEs back in June when Gove announced his plans to scrap the GCSE and replace it with a two-tier system similar to the old O-levels and CSE system that was abolished in 1988. At the time Clegg slammed the concept of a two-tier system saying it would cast children on to a "scrapheap."

However, new plans appear to have removed the two-tier idea and the new exams will be sat by most pupils. The new exams will come into effect in autumn 2015 - apparently a year later than expected - but of course this also means that Labour could scrap the system if it was to win the general election earlier in the year.

But what we want to know is what you think of the plans so far? Do you think GCSEs are too easy and change is long overdue or do modular GCSEs help learning and are good for all students? Also, can there possibly be any exam that would stretch the brightest students and also give the less able students a chance? Tell us your point of view on the open thread discussion below.

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