SEA Contemporary Motion enters Labour Party conference ballot.

The SEA motion on the recent GCSE debacle and the subsequent 'reforms' proposed by Michael Gove has been accepted as a valid 'contemporary motion' and will enter the ballot at conference this Sunday. We are calling for support from union and CLP delegates as well as those representing Socialist Societies. The motion reads as follows: 'This conference condemns the sham ‘public consultation’ announced by Michael Gove on 17^th September on changes to GCSE examinations. As Stephen Twigg has commented, ‘This risks a return to a two-tier system which left thousands of children on the scrap heap at the age of 16. Schools do need to change as all children stay on in education to 18 and we face up to the challenges of the 21st Century.’ We won't achieve that with a return to the 1950s. Instead, we need a system that promotes rigour and breadth, and prepares young people for the challenges of the modern economy. There is a place for coursework, proper vocational qualifications and a broad curriculum for all our children. This is time for a genuine review not a pre-determined outcome, reflecting the prejudices of a man living in an educational time warp. We call on the governments in England and Wales to introduce a real review of Key Stage 4 exam qualifications so that evidence-based, equitable and rigorous forms of assessment can be developed that reflect the outcome of a good education for all our young people.'