Biggest schools shake-up in a decade to cut GCSE exam time

The government has announced it will cut GCSE exam time by up to three hours per student.

The final report from a curriculum and assessment review - commissioned by Labour last year, and the biggest of its kind for a decade - recommends cutting the overall volume of exams at Key Stage 4 by 10%, ruling the current amount as "excessive".

It also calls for the introduction of new maths and English tests in Year 8 to help teachers identify learning gaps sooner, the addition of mandatory citizenship lessons in primary schools, and a major overhaul of the Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation, and spelling test.

AI among new subjects

The reforms to the national curriculum will also include a focus on AI and data science for post-16 students.

For the first time, primary-aged children will be taug