Schools to stop teaching GCSEs before Year 10 in major curriculum overhaul

The government will overhaul Key Stage 3 for students in Years 7 to 9, as part of a major review of the National Curriculum. Schools will be told not to start GCSE courses early for entire year groups amid concerns that some students are being pushed towards exam content as early as Year 7. Ministers have said they want to restore Key Stage 3 as a distinct three-year phase, which has less overcrowded content, and offers more time for pupils to master core subjects.

The education secretary said she was "putting a stop" to the education system "rushing" students towards exams without giving them a chance to master core subjects. Read more: Britain’s snobbery towards vocational skills is failing a generation of young people, writes Education Secretary Lucy Powell Read more: Education Secretary insists new vocational GCSEs are not ‘dumbing down’ system Lucy Powell, Secretary of State for Education, said: "The pressures of GCSEs and an overcrowded curriculum are resulting in too many children receiving a narrower offer during Key Stage 3 and being rushed towards exams without grasping the fundamentals or developing deeper understanding.

I’m putting a stop to that." She added: “The new curriculum and focus for these vital early teen years will mean more children are excited to learn and more teachers are excited to teach." The proposed curriculum will focus more on oracy, reading, numeracy, digital and technical skills, as well as drama, PE, music and modern languages. This is part of wider government efforts to tackle disengagement and the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training, especially among disadvantaged pupils and white working-class children.

Government data shows persistent absence rises from around 13% in Year 6 to around 25% in Year 9. This comes in response to growing evidence, the Milburn Review, the White Working Class Education Inquiry, and the Becky Francis Curriculum and Assessment Review. The Department for Education added that under the proposals, teachers would still be able to move high-achieving pupils on to GCSE-level work earlier where appropriate. Sir Hamid Patel, co-chair of the Independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes and chief executive of Star Academies, said: "It is a time when a love of learning should be developed and when young people should experience a broad and balanced curriculum that exposes them to new ideas."

The renewed focus on Key Stage 3 goes alongside a new framework to help schools make more space for richer experiences that inspire young people – from practical experiments to debate. According to figures from the Department of Education, persistent absence almost doubled across the early secondary years, rising from around 13% in Year 6 to around 25% in Year 9.