At a meeting of the Town Council last week, members unanimously approved and adopted a motion in support of students from Greenfield Community College in their petition to the Secretary of State for Education regarding the English GCSE exam. Councillor John Clare, supporting the Greenfield students in their campaign to make English GCSE coursework equitable proposed the motion: “Great Aycliffe Town Council applauds the students of Greenfield Community College, Newton Aycliffe, who have challenged the inequity of an exam system whereby English state schools entering students for the English GCSE exam do not have a 40% coursework option … although that option continues to be available to independent schools through IGCSE. Such a disparity of opportunity is unacceptable.
Great Aycliffe Town Council therefore requests the Secretary of State for Education to consider the Greenfield students’ petition*, which seeks parity of treatment and calls upon Parliament to allow state schools the option of 40% coursework in English GCSE exams.” (the students’ petition is published online at http://bit.ly/CWK40) Councillor Clare (a former teacher at Greenfield) pointed out how proud we should be of the ethical calibre of the students mounting this campaign; and also of the need of our democratic institutions to respond when young people (who are so often apathetic to politics) turn to them. Other Councillors spoke in support of the motion, which was passed unanimously. The students are calling upon Parliament to allow state schools the option of 40% coursework in English GCSE exams, which is currently only available to students from independent schools who are able to take iGCSE. This lack of equality of opportunity is deemed to be unacceptable.
