Gove’s new exams should not replace the national curriculum

After a week of speculation and leaks, last Friday’s TES provided a clearer picture of how Michael Gove proposes to reform the national curriculum and exam system. It appears the national curriculum will be abolished for every subject except maths, science and English, though even the curriculum in these subjects will be so short as to give teachers ‘almost total freedom’ over what is taught.

This is partly a device to avoid the need for legislation (abolishing the curriculum altogether would require a bill to go through parliament – something Gove might struggle to win given opposition from Liberal Democrats and influential Conservative MPs to the idea). It also reflects the fact that half of secondary schools already have substantial freedom over the curriculum by virtue of being academies. But the main reason to abolish the curriculum is to fit with his wider plan to reform the exam system.