Ranil Jayawardena has welcomed news that from September all pupils will study the EBacc at GCSE to ensure they get the crucial skills and qualifications they need to succeed in life. This also provides the certainty that schools need to plan for the future.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is awarded when students achieve A* to C in five core GCSE subjects including English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Languages – the courses that universities and employers value the most. From September 2015 all pupils starting secondary school will study the EBacc when they reach their GCSEs.
This comes as new figures from Ofsted show that across the country the proportion of all schools judged to be good or outstanding at their most recent inspection was 82 per cent – the highest ever recorded. As a result over 1 million more children are now in good schools compared to 2010.
Ranil said: ‘As part of the Conservative’s commitment to opportunity, I want everyone to have access to the best opportunities Britain has to offer. I was educated locally in the state sector and I want to make sure that today’s children have access to even better schools, where they can study the key subjects that will provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.
‘That’s why it’s great news that the latest figures show that 80 per cent of schools in our region are now rated good or outstanding. And thanks to changes being introduced by the Government, from September around 53,000 more pupils will be studying key academic subjects at GCSE in this area.
‘As a One Nation Party, we are firmly on the side of people who want to work hard, get on and provide a decent education for their children. We are committed to ensuring that every child has the schools and skills they need to reach their full potential.’