Should we really consider scrapping GCSEs?

Analysis: The Education Committee chair has called for the exams currently taken by 16-year-olds to be abolished. So, is it time for a radical overhaul of the English system? Eleanor Busby looks at the pros and cons

GCSEs remain the mainstay of secondary education (Rex)

Senior Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who chairs the Education Committee, has become the latest leading figure in the sector to call for GCSEs to be scrapped.

He argues that the qualifications for 16-year-olds are now “pointless” and suggests that abolishing GCSEs and replacing A-levels with a broader mix of academic and vocational subjects would give young people more relevant skills for the workplace.

The call for the exams to be ditched is not an original plea. But what is significant is that it comes from a Tory, and a former skills minister at that.