The teachers are being put under pressure by families to deliver top grades to boost their children’s chances getting into the top universities.
Research authorised by the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, which represents 250 leading independent schools, said the focus on GCSE and A-level preparation “compromised” their ability to deliver sport, expeditions and school trips for final year pupils.
The study from HMC’s annual meeting in central London – said pressure from parents and universities produced a “vicious circle” that constrained schools’ abilities to provide a broad education and teach children to think independently.It said many schools were “risk averse and lacked the courage to actively create the curriculum” that most teachers wanted to deliver.
The disclosure follows claims from Gary Lineker, the BBC presenter and former England football captain, that Charterhouse treated his son as a “guinea pig'' by ditching A-levels in favour of new-style exams. George Lineker, 18, failed to obtain the three B grades needed to get into Manchester University after the fee-paying school in Surrey switched to the tougher Cambridge Pre-U qualification.
Article extracted from Telegraph
