Find Your Levels
‘WHILE Tony Blair has been away, two of his former and latterly estranged champions have died (Robin Cook and Mo Mowlam), his much-vaunted education system has been heavily criticised and the police have been accused of a cover up in the death of Jean Charles de Mendez.
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| ‘Het spreken van interfrastically…’ |
Its been a good time for our beloved leader to be buried in a mud and seaweed wrap in Lourdes.
And it will only get better for Tony when stand-in Prime Minister John Prescott is revealed to have been speaking Dutch, both double and single, for the past ten years and declares war on France.
But if Tony was thinking of returning this week, he should reconsider and dally on the Vaticans indoor boating lake a while longer.
The Times says that not only are A levels in a mess, but so too are GCSES, which independent schools are ready to axe because theyre too easy to pass.
David Vanston, chairman of the Independent Schools Association, says that GCSE coursework is stultifyingly boring. These exams are also open to cheating.
And then theres the question of who marks the tests. The Guardian leads with the news that some GCSE papers have not been graded by trained professionals but by secretaries.
Edexcel, one of the three main exam boards in England, has been using its own administration staff and secretarial support to mark this years GCSE paper in religious education.
A spokeswoman for Edexcel explains: There was a very large number of papers taken late in the day and it did run late and we were struggling to find religious studies practitioners. We recruited graduates and our own staff to do the marking.
Were short or religious experts? And there was us thinking the country was awash with rampant Islamicists. Surely, even with Tony Blair at large in Faliraki, there is another Christian willing and able to put their faith to the test.
Or is it a case of judge not lest you be judged? Which could explain the Governments policy on GCSEs 97.6 per cent of students passed their GCSEs last year, and the Guardian says the pass rates is expected to around the same level this year.
Problem is that God is not responsible for university admissions, which leads to problems like the one highlighted in the Times. There we learn that two pupils, Rachel Prentice and Varsha Beorge, who both scored three A grades in their A levels, have been unsuccessful in their applications to six universities.
We studied really hard and got good grades, but it all seems to have been in vain, says Ms Prentice. I feel hard done by.
But they shouldnt feel too bad. You dont need A levels to get on in life – just look at John Prescott. Although if he were at school today, even hed probably get a hatful of certificates…’
Posted: 22nd, August 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
