End of A-levels? Rishi Sunak's 'pie in sky' decision draws fire from across UK, world

Parents on Thursday slammed UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plans to restructure the A-levels system, alleging the measures will drive thousands of staff members out of the field and leave kids who despise math sulking in classrooms.

Sunak unveiled his plan to replace A-Levels and T-Levels with an international baccalaureate-style diploma in which students would take at least five topics yesterday.

Every pupil will be required to study some form of Maths and English to age 18, Sunak said.

Additionally, he expressed a desire to increase the number of hours British children spend in the classroom after the age of 16 in order to catch up with other nations.

Parents worried about the disruption that could result from requiring displeased kids to stay in class as well and teachers who weren't briefed on the plan stood against it.

One parent said, "It's hard enough to get Maths teachers to GCSE let alone A-Levels. Most kids get the Maths they need for day-to-day life by the start of secondary."

"Forcing kids who hate Maths to remain in classrooms longer than they already need is wasting resources that could be better used on kids who actually want to do the subject."

Another said, "The kids that are good or middling good are already getting less teaching attention than they deserve. Many are put off because they have to put up with kids who really don't want to be in a maths classroom."

"All our trades are missing out on kids who would be doing much better practically and gainfully employed than sitting in a classroom trying to learn what? Calculus?!?"

A third added, "I have a dyslexic child who I had imagined would benefit from dropping English as soon as humanly possible in the current system...I can see being forced to continue to 18 causing problems with their grades."

Teaching unions also slammed the proposals, describing the PM as "completely out of touch with reality".

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said there was already a huge staff shortage with one in six English teachers and one in five mathematics teachers not having a post-A-Level qualification in the subject.

A further 4,300 mathematics teachers and 2,600 English teachers are required to cover current needs, the union said.

Sunak did make intentions known to entice teachers to teach at colleges and schools by offering tax-free bonuses of up to £30,000 for the first five years of their careers.

There was, however, no indication that the long-tenured, current teachers who aired their annoyance on social media were being supported.

One said, "More knee-jerk policies without any input from teachers. I'm a Design and Technology teacher, why not ask people like me what needs to be done to improve education?"

Another said, "What about the experienced teachers whose workload will increase to train and mentor the new trainees? It's one of my favourite parts of my job but feels crap knowing they're probably bringing home more money than I am for much less work, less experience and less stress."

A third added, "Why not reward the long-serving teachers? Those who bring expertise and experience to the role? Lots of new teachers simply leave. It makes more sense to invest in the ones with 10 years plus experience. We are the ones holding it together in this storm."

Another said, "While a pile of tosh! Give me £30,000 to stay as an experienced teacher who trains new teachers. Give your head a wobble man and recognise those sticking it out who are already doing a good job. This is insulting to us."

As he detailed his education shake-up at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester yesterday, Sunak said he was "pulling one of the biggest levers we have to change the direction of our country".

He told the Conservative conference in Manchester, "We will introduce the new rigorous, knowledge-rich Advanced British Standard which will bring together A-Levels and T-Levels into a new, single qualification for our school leavers."

"First, this will finally deliver on the promise of parity of esteem between academic and technical education because all students will sit the Advanced British Standard."

"Second, we will raise the floor, ensuring that our children leave school literate and numerate."

"Because with the Advanced British Standard, all students will study some form of English and maths to 18, with extra help for those who struggle most. In our country, no child should be left behind."

"Third, our 16- to 19-year-olds spend around a third less time in the classroom than some of our competitors. We must change this."

"So, with our Advanced British Standard, students will spend at least 195 hours more with a teacher."

"And fourth, A-Level students, generally, only do three subjects compared to the seven studied by our economic competitors."

"The Advanced British Standard will change that too, with students now, typically, studying five subjects."

"And thanks to the extra teaching time that we are introducing this greater breadth won't come at the expense of depth which is such a strength of our system."

Sunak acknowledged his plans would require "more teachers in the coming years".

Turning on Labour, he condemned the "false dream" of 50% of children going to university as "one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years", adding that, "It led to thousands of young people being ripped off by degrees that did nothing to increase their employability or earnings potential."

The PM also promised to make education his "main funding priority" in every review of Whitehall spending.