Head viewpoint Education
Is the Common Entrance old hat?
Paul Brewster of The Beacon, Amersham and chairman of the Prep School Baccalaureate working group, challenges the current exam system
Over the past 15 years, the introduction of a choice of examination styles into the university selection process has made it easier for universities to pick the best students. Gone are the days of A level only. Now we have alternatives including the International Baccalaureate Diploma and Pre-U. As a result, schools, universities and pupils have all benefitted, as the broader approach taken by the IB suits some students, whereas to be able to focus on, say, science only A Levels, suits others. So there is a strong argument to applying the same principle to public school entrance. A single route, like the Common Entrance
Examination (CEE), no longer suits the majority, as pupils can be crammed for a subject but may have little interest or understanding of the subject. Te Prep School Baccalaureate (PSB) would – on the whole – be based on the National Curriculum, which in turn is what Common Entrance is based on. Te mode of delivery and its emphasis would be different: the approach to the humanities, for example, would allow considerably more freedom, in order to encourage individual and focused study. What is important for 10-13 year olds is developing a passion for learning – not the need to acquire enough facts to pass a test – not to be able to write a “set” essay, not to parrot 20 capitals of the world. Best practice within PSB schools would enable pupils to produce high quality work, driven by genuine interest in their subject. Te PSB would enable the brightest pupils to fly higher, while ensuring that all pupils show what they can do – not what they cannot. I am convinced that this is a better alternative. At
Te Beacon, our frustrations with Common Entrance led us to introduce, four years ago, an alternative to the CE, which we call the Beacon Certificate of Achievement (BCA). Te BCA is a two-year programme that encompasses all that good prep schools have to
offer. Progress and achievement are tracked in all areas – not just the academic. Assessment is a blend of key point tests, modular assessments and teacher assessments. Tese assessments together create a more holistic picture of each child, which can be accessed by senior schools, pupils and parents at any stage. Tis means that senior schools can offer places sooner, that families are better prepared for what’s coming and that we have a whole that encourages best practice in prep schools. What we have learned from introducing the BCA at
Te Beacon is that pupils make better progress, especially those that are middling students. We’ve found that the BCA is well received by senior schools: they like the pupils they get as a result. On the flip side, and as a single school running our own programme, credibility can be an issue. Moderating standards can be difficult, as we are on our own; and, long term, we need to sustain the programme so that it has a future. Te Prep School Baccalaureate aims to build on this experience and map out the ideas behind the BCA on a national scale. If our objectives come to fruition, the PSB would be
run by the ISEB (the Independent Schools’ Examination Board, which also runs Common Entrance) as an alternative to – not replacement for – Common Entrance. All aspects of prep school life would be covered through a process overseen by the Prep School Baccalaureate Organisation (PSBO). Te PSBO would be a not-for-profit organisation, governed by trustees, whose motivation would be to ensure high standards are adhered to. We would aim to benchmark against the national norms in the core subjects, Maths, English and Science, and would have a balance of modular and key-point assessments. Finally, we would have an open pupil profile of the two-year period covering Y7 and Y8. On a practical level, we are aiming to get a pilot
group of 10-15 schools put together for September 2012 with support gained from senior schools. Already we have considerable support from a number of prep and public schools including Te Hawthorns, Eagle House, Lambrook and Moorlands School, Leeds, St Edward’s Oxford, Wellington College, Marlborough College and Charterhouse. We are hoping that the Prep School Baccalaureate Organisation would arrange peer moderation among the pilot group providing first-rate but affordable training for staff that could be arranged via e-portals and school visits. Trough this we hope to inspire schools to join us in updating the process of selection of children into their senior schools.
If you or your school are interested in being part of the pilot group for the Prep School Baccalaureate, please contact:
headmaster@beaconschool.co.uk
www.firstelevenmagazine.co.uk Summer 2011 FirstEleven 21
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PHOTO: ISTOCK
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