MOST private schools are ignoring “restrictive” reforms introduced in the state sector that delay the beginning of formal exams, an official has said.
John Edward, director of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), said it was routine for independent pupils to choose exam subjects in S2 rather than S3.
One of the underlying philosophies of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is the introduction of a broad general education in the first three years of secondary to allow pupils to develop their learning without the immediate pressure of exams.
Read more: Scots parents 'turning their back' on state schools because of new curriculum, says head
Despite this many state schools are still allowing pupils to make exam choices before the end of third year because they believe it gives them an appropriate focus and challenge for their learning. It also makes it easier for pupils to sit more qualifications.
However, inspectors have now launched a clampdown on schools that are ignoring the so-called broad general education.
Mr Edward said: “The view of private schools generally is that they adhere to their own curricula and there will not be a standard approach. If pupils are ready for exams earlier then they will take them earlier.
“I don’t know of any private school that has adopted the broad general education. I don’t think they would be as restrictive as that. I think they might have a general sense of when pupils would start exams, but I don’t think they would bring the drawbridge down at one stage or another.
“I know of children who are in S2 at the moment who are making subject choices with national qualifications in mind and that is not unusual in the private sector.”
Read more: Revealed - MSPs five times more likely to be privately educated than average Scot
Mr Edward’s comments came after Cameron Wyllie, principal of George Heriot’s School, in Edinburgh, said increasing numbers of families coming from comprehensive schools to the private sector blamed their decision on a lack of challenge for able pupils under CfE.
Speaking in a personal capacity, he said: “This policy that children should continue with a broad education into S3 rather than selecting seven or eight subjects to study for two years has always been deeply perplexing to me.
“My first concrete suggestion would be that the policy of broad general education in S3 should be dropped. I think this would be very attractive to informed parents... and would improve standards in literacy and numeracy since pupils would spend more time on English and maths.”
A spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union said education could offer challenge and direction without the pursuit of exams.
Eileen Prior, executive director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said the broad general education should not be “written off”.
She said: “We have to ask about the purpose of education. It is surely about much more than simply preparing young people to sit and pass exams.
Read more: Kelvinside Academy unveils 'youngest headteacher in UK independent sector' as new rector
“Employers tell us often about the attributes they are looking for such as team working, communication, collaboration, problem solving and entrepreneurship and these are part of the reason the broad general education has been supported in principle by many parents.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel