Following concerns that too many teenagers leave education without adequate skills in literacy and numeracy needed by employers, the government has announced that pupils who fail to achieve at least a C grade at GCSE in English and Maths will have to carry on taking the subjects to the age of 18.
The reforms are due to be put into practice from September 2014, and it
will see some pupils re-taking GCSE and others taking less demanding tests,
aimed at improving basic skills.
More than 40,000 youngsters a year reach 19 without having had any
further lessons in English, after failing the subject at 16, says the
Department for Education. For maths, the figure is more than 60,000 each year.
The changes, linked to raising the leaving age for education and
training, will mean youngsters in the education system beyond 16 will be
expected to reach an adequate level in maths and English but those who have
already achieved a grade C or above at these subjects will be unaffected.
The Department for Education said enforcement remained the
responsibility of local authorities.
Under the proposals, the process of raising the compulsory age for
education and training to 18 will be completed in 2015.
It will address the high drop-out rate at the age of 16 - a measure in
which England's school system has lagged behind many other industrial
countries.
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