4th January 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The Acorn School in Nailsworth has made the decision to remove the traditional GCSE and A-level examinations from their curriculum, the BBC has reported. Students at Acorn still achieve university places, but do so by giving admissions tutors a sample of their school work, and graded progress reports from their teachers, rather than relying on public exam results.
Graeme Whiting, the founder and head teacher of the Acorn school, says that GCSEs and A-levels aren’t the best preparation for university, and they don’t offer a balanced education. Mr Whiting branded the popular examinations “corrupt” and “too shallow and narrow” because they attempt to monitor six million students.
It is a daunting prospect for the parents and students at the Acorn School, to trust that the system will not disadvantage them when applying to university. Some parents arrange for their children to take the public examinations privately, but most appear to have faith the school. It is also popular among the pupils, with the general consensus being that no final examinations encourages a hard and consistent work ethic.
The school has showed that their system can work, with 45 students having achieved a university, and of the 12 who have already graduated, only 2 have not received a 2:1.