GCSEs, should they be phased out? by Olivia Eyre Davison CE High School

Concerns about stress and anxiety among 15 and 16 year olds are increasing during exam season, according to bera.ac.uk. The reported number of school children who say they feel pressured and anxious has increased from 25% to 40%. An article by Markinstyle on the alarming statistics on exam stress in the UK says that 73% of secondary school teachers believe pupils’ mental health has deteriorated since the reformed GCSEs were introduced.

After speaking to a 10th grader who is currently going through her 10th grade at Davison CE High School for Girls, she had this to say about the GCSE system: “A lot of us only studied a few subjects for like five months , I think they create a lot of unnecessary stress and many students don’t perform well under these conditions,” Maya Healey. Should 10th graders be assessed in subjects they have only recently been introduced to? After speaking to some other 10th grade students, they expressed that they are already feeling the stress of not making the 8s and 9s they hope to be by the end of 11th grade.

Since the introduction of GCSEs we have seen an increase in mental health cases across the UK, the UK assessment system is outdated compared to global developments. Students are not being taught the necessary skills to keep up with the revolution that is taking place across the world.

So I’m asking you, does the UK need to abolish our outdated public examination system that the government is sticking to?