In a letter sent to parents at the end of June, Latymer Upper announced major changes to the curriculum reform it had initially planned for 2027. To be fair, many current parents were already aware that the school had never intended to abolish GCSEs completely, as had originally been reported in the press. Instead, the school had already backtracked some time ago, acknowledging that pupils would likely still sit Maths and English GCSEs to meet minimum requirements.
The recent announcement goes much further: Latymer Upper pupils will now sit 8 or 9 GCSEs (instead of the usual 10), “alongside an exciting programme of new and innovative courses.” These include AI, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, sports psychology and physiology, and information literacy. As a result, the core GCSE curriculum will remain broadly aligned with that of other private schools, and the changes will be minor.
The main reason for this reversal is the realisation that the intended reform might have disadvantaged Latymer Upper students in their university applications. Sadly, it seems it will be a while before another London day school ventures into a similar experiment. There is, however, some hope for those hoping to see change in the GCSE landscape: in her first interview since becoming education secretary, Lucy Powell told BBC Radio 5 Live that she will “look at and take forward some changes to the curriculum and assessment system,” and that she wants to “take the time to look at” exam load in relation to the GCSEs currently on offer.
The Government has already been developing curriculum changes, first proposed in a review by Professor Becky Francis last November. The Francis report recommended that teenagers sit fewer GCSE exams. Latymer Upper may have been ahead of the curve after all.