It transpires that the exam board assessors marking the exam papers are less intelligent than the pupils are!

Ok, that may not be exactly the case, but this is clearly a case of the system failing the pupils and not the pupils failing the exams.

When an A* pupil gets marked down because her correct answer does not fit into one of the tick boxes on the assessment scheme paperwork then the system must be deemed a failure and a return to some traditional values must take place.

People who understand the subject matter well enough to be able to use their own judgment in a situation like this would be a good start. If the assessor cannot be trusted to use common sense when marking then why not simply make all examinations multiple choice and put the answers into a computer?!??!

Our children are having a hard enough time as it is without this kind of foolish behaviour.

I do not blame the assessor; I blame the education system. The system no longer tests the ability to learn a subject well enough to use it either personally or professionally to a decent standard but test the ability to learn how to pass exams.

This outcome-based rather than goal-based approach is keeping the less bright children down and dragging the brighter ones down too.

The government’s education reforms have failed as have the reforms made by previous governments and it is surely time to return to the systems that not only worked but also placed Britain at the forefront of world knowledge and achievement.

Imagine the Theory of Relativity being marked down because the answer was not already on the paper?!??!

I will finish up with a few quotes from a recent article in the Daily Mail:

"Literary giants such as Jane Austen and William Wordsworth are being stripped from English classes along with key facts in maths and science." - Those "old school" writers are just too hard to understand when "great" is now spelt "gr8" and "you are" is spelt "ur"!

"In history pupils will be encouraged to learn about the British Empire...But world history is being squeezed out." - Perfect preparation for globalisation and the one world government as that is what will look normal to the pupils learning history this way.

"The reforms are designed to give teachers more time providing "catch-up classes" for pupils still lacking basic skills." - Therefore the brighter pupils now get to spend less time in lessons actually learning things so that they can become as average as the less bright pupils will be when they have finished getting extra time in the classroom.

And a brief rundown of the changes in various subjects goes a little something like this:

English:
Pupils will now only be required to read one play by Shakespeare and journalism, travel writing and film & television will be studied

Maths:
There will be no prescribed methods on how mathematics will be taught. Instead, they will learn how maths has developed through history and across cultures.

Science:
Five detailed points on electricity and magnetism will be reduced to "understanding that electricity in circuits can produce a variety of effects." Pupils will also no longer be required to learn about the properties of light and sound.

On a positive note a consultation is being launched on this early 2007 and the changes will not be implemented until September 2008. This gives us all a lot of time to talk to our local PTA, head teachers (if there are any left) and MP's to make sure that these ridiculous ideas are consigned to the scrapheap before our children's education is further destroyed...Maybe beyond repair this time.

But before I finish I absolutely must quote the pupil herself after she learnt of her lost mark...

"This one incident, I believe, indicates a wider problem. I feel the entire exam structure is geared towards the standardisation of each pupil regardless of individual talent and ability and find this most discouraging."

We can only hope that, when the time comes, she is willing to run the education system for us!