Schools Warned Against Early GCSE Teaching Over 'Exam Factory' Risk

England's education secretary has cautioned that introducing GCSE material to younger pupils risks turning secondary schools into "early exam factories" and is contributing to growing disengagement from education.

Lucy Powell wants schools to stop the common practice of teaching GCSE topics to pupils in year 9 or earlier, ahead of the official start of the courses in year 10. She also intends to cut the volume of GCSE content so it can fit more comfortably within the official timetable.

The Department for Education said the measures will form part of the government's overhaul of the national curriculum, due to be published in early 2027. The reforms are aimed at tackling school disengagement, closing the disadvantage gap between pupils from richer and poorer backgrounds, and addressing the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training.

"The early years of secondary school should be a time when children are excited to go to school and engage in the specialist and much broader teaching on offer, and where they find their passion and develop a love of learning," Powell said.

She pointed instead to "worrying trends of disengagement and high levels of persistent absence, with the disadvantage gap stubbornly large and too many leaving school without the knowledge and skills they need to thrive." She said the new national curriculum is designed to address those problems as part of wider education reforms.

Powell added that the pressures of GCSEs and an overcrowded curriculum mean too many children receive a narrower offer and are "rushed towards exams without grasping the fundamentals or developing deeper understanding. I'm putting a stop to that."

Many secondary schools currently begin GCSE-level work in year 9 to spread course content over a longer period. Powell told the Sunday Times she opposed "early exam factories" and that reducing GCSE content would allow courses to be taught comfortably within the allotted two years of year 10 and year 11.

According to the DfE, the new curriculum will state that schools "should not start GCSE specifications early for large cohorts or see children routinely required to narrow their options earlier or entered earlier for exams."

The policy will not be compulsory, however. Schools will keep the flexibility to teach GCSEs early to younger pupils they judge capable of coping with the material.

Powell said slimmed-down GCSEs would give schools "more time to develop deeper understanding, as well as a richer experience that will engage more young people in their passions and prepare them better for the fast-changing world they will grow up in."