Last week's Poll: How should upper secondary education change?

Should A Levels be replaced with a new form of qualification that gives young people the broad range of skills they’ll need in a rapidly changing workplace?

They should, according to Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, who last week delivered an address setting out the case for an independent review into post-16 learning during the next parliament.

In Ramakrishnan’s view, the review should feed into a transformation in schools that reflects the changing nature of a technology-driven jobs market.

According to the Royal Society, four out of five businesses expect to increase the number of high-skilled roles, but two thirds are concerned there will be a lack of sufficiently skilled people to fill them. They add that from ages 16 to 18, young people’s education should broaden to help develop transferable skills including communication, problem solving, and team work.

So how should upper secondary education change to accommodate the needs of employers? According to a third (33 per cent) of last week’s 500 poll respondents, those very employers should participate in curriculum development, followed by 22 per cent who think a broader range of subjects should be studied.