Carfax Blog

We share perspectives, stories and ideas in education. Find our latest blog posts written by our educational experts.

1 Sep 2020 3 min read

Carfax Education launches 2020 global private schools index in partnership with Spear’s Magazine

Carfax Education, the leading global education group, announced the launch of the first international ranking of top private schools, the Spear's Schools Index. In partnership with Spear’s, the award-winning magazine for high-net-worth individuals, Carfax Education has released the first global index, which lists the 100 very best private schools around the globe.

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15 Sep 2021

Oxbridge interviews- how to prepare:

The Oxbridge interviews are well underway. Many applicants will have received their interview date, and it will now be a tense time, as they prepare for the big day. What can they do to prepare? We asked our Oxbridge graduate tutors for their advice.

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15 Mar 2022

Keeping the brain ticking over in the summer break

The long summer holidays are nearly here – children are already counting how many ‘sleeps’ left until the end of term. Whilst the summer break is a great opportunity for quality family time, it is also an ideal time to explore hobbies and interests that get squeezed out in the frenetic pace of term time life. And whilst 8 weeks away from the classroom might sound appealing to some children, both parents and educationalists know that taking your eye off the academic ball for this length of time can be detrimental to a child’s learning. So, the question is how can you keep your children’s brains and minds ticking over so they are not losing ground over the break and will be able to slot back into the academic groove more easily in September?

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1 Apr 2022

Are exams fit for purpose?

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on all aspects of education and exams have borne the brunt. Uncertainty around assessment has meant that some education providers have started to give serious consideration to whether testing in the form we know it is fit for purpose at all.

It’s not the first time there’s been uncertainty around the point of exams. When GCSEs were first introduced back in 1988, students had the choice to stay at school until they were 16 or stay on for A-levels. Now they stay until they’re 18 anyway, many argue that GCSEs have needed a rethink for some time. The country’s skills crisis has further highlighted a need for something different.

Time for change

A report called The Future of Education, co-authored by Tory MPs Flick Drummond and Cherilyn Mackrory, advocates replacing GCSEs with academic, technical exams and apprenticeships at 18 and suggests the adoption of a similar system to the Baccalaureate at 18 “but our own British version”.

Others agree that Covid-19 has provided just the opportunity we’ve been waiting for for a complete reform. The TES reported that England’s major exam boards were asked if they could move GCSE and A-level exams online this summer, with sources suggesting that the Department for Education was more receptive to overhauling the idea of pen-and-paper GCSEs and A-levels.

Greg Brooks, emeritus professor of education at the University of Sheffield, told the Guardian last year he was in favour of no centralised assessment until the age of 18 and “a common curriculum for all children until they begin to know what sort of educational and work career would suit them”.

“I have been in favour of GCSE reform for a long time,” says David Ashton, deputy head, academic, at Framlingham College, a boarding and day school for boys and girls aged three to 18 in Sussex.

“Remote learning at GCSE has been a powerful reminder that pupils can be autonomous learners and less reliant on teachers than involved by traditional approaches to learning.”

Ashton also believes that remote learning has also shown us the advantages of continuous assessment, which is meaningfully embedded in day-to-day learning. This, he says, “is a more accurate assessment of a pupil’s learning as opposed to a series of terminal examinations which test stamina and memory, as much as anything.”

One report advocates replacing GCSEs with academic, technical exams and apprenticeships at 18

Guide Education founder Leon Hady is resolute: “Exams are no longer fit for purpose,” he says, adamantly, “They were always about short-term retrieval rather than skills.”

Hady believes skills have changed and exams no longer reflect this. “They were a system which did for many years work for colleges or universities. Asking for answers on a piece of paper allowed them to scale. However, now with technology applicability, teamwork and communal skills are far better than being able to remember something short term.”

Another clear problem with exams is that teaching can inevitably become too exam-focused, says Carl Morris, principal of Oxford independent school Carfax College. “There are plenty of arguments both for and against exams, but what’s clear is that they’re not the only metric by which to measure academic ability.”

Morris believes the prescriptive nature of exams lends itself to reciting and regurgitating learned information rather than developing other key skills such as curiosity and independent learning and research.

What the introduction of a teacher-assessed grading system has shown us is that we are not ready for the alternative

“However,” he says, “what the introduction of a teacher-assessed grading system has shown us is that we are not yet ready for the alternative.

“Many schools put together robust systems in order to compile portfolios of evidence for their students and yet many students still suffered. Exam boards tried to resolve the issues of inflating grades and teacher bias by implementing an algorithm but that didn’t work either, and ultimately had to be dropped.”

However, until there’s an alternative, says Morris, “I believe that exams are currently the best assessment tool we currently have and do work for the majority of students. While there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution that will benefit every student, perhaps teacher-assessed grades could be integrated as an alternative for students who struggle with exams, to replace access arrangements such as extra time or using a laptop.”

Some say paper-based exams are now impractical

So, what is the alternative?

It’s clear that old-school, content-laden, rigid instruments don’t have the flexibility necessary to manage the uncertainties in today’s fast-paced digital world, says Robert Harrison, education strategy director at ACS International Schools.

“Paper-based, syllabus-driven exams stand out as impractical and increasingly irrelevant. The stress they add for students and teachers when they’re given – not to mention when they’re not – compromises confidence in the system and creates unhealthy pressures on wellbeing.”

Instead, Harrison suggests, schools need to adopt a more holistic approach. ACS International Schools offers the International Baccalaureate’s (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) at two of its schools in the group.

Paper-based, syllabus-driven exams stand out as impractical and increasingly irrelevant

In the MYP, courses that are less amenable to assessment by examination use externally moderated or examined coursework. On-screen examinations offer multiple ways for students to show what they’ve learned across a range of assessment formats.

MYP eAssessment focuses on the application and transfer of conceptual understanding across unfamiliar contexts, “the gold standard of education”.

Harrison adds: “Web-based examinations make secure, non-school-based administration possible and the digital literacies that teachers develop as they prepare their students for assessment are a key washback effect.

“There are still good arguments for rigorous assessment before students leave school. There’s nothing wrong with ‘teaching to the test,’ so long as it’s the right test.”

Could online exams be commonplace in the future?

Another way

“Our world is in crisis and it needs the problem solvers, creative thinkers, innovators, collaborators and those with the courage to think outside of the box,” says Johanna Urquhart, principal at Lomond School in Scotland.

“Within examination models that are based on learning key words, memorising passages and following an exam ‘formula’, pupils are not rewarded for creative, critical or original thinking.”

Pupils in England choose which areas to specialise in from a young age and typically only study three A-levels in the last two years of school.

Although the curriculum stays broader for longer in Scotland, pupils sit external exams every year for the last three years of their school career, so the focus becomes more on the assessment rather than the learning. Urquhart believes this means “less focus on some of the valuable skills that are so important”.

A combination of different curriculum models is what is required to ensure that the skills and strengths of each young person are supported

Any teacher knows that no two pupils are the same, “therefore a combination of different curriculum models is what is required to ensure that the skills and strengths of each young person are supported rather than undermined – whether traditionally academic or not”, says Urquhart.

Lomond School have recently been given authorisation to deliver two IB programmes in addition to an HNC in Business, alongside its existing SQA provision. This makes it the first school in the world to offer this combination of curriculum choice, offering the flexibility and choice Urquhart, and many of her peers, believe is essential.

The IB career-related programme with an HNC in Business will be unique to Scotland and comprises a mix of academic courses from the IB Diploma Programme alongside a career-related study and work placements.

“We now feel that we have a curriculum for everyone,” says Urquhart, “that will prepare our pupils with the skills, qualities and world-renowned qualifications needed for the future.”

However they are (or aren’t) restructured, ultimately, what’s most important, says Morris, “is that we do not hold exams up as the ultimate purpose of education, and the only framework from which to teach, but rather a tool to measure progress.

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5 Apr 2022 4 min read

Student Profiling: What is it and how does it work?

There are always many decisions to make as part of a child’s education journey and our Carfax consultants are firm believers that to make clear and confident choices you need information. In order for us to be able to give our clients the best possible advice, we use a suite of online profiling tools which help us to ascertain a student’s interests, academic ability and motivations. Armed with this information making decisions about university choices, school placement options and careers planning all become much easier.

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5 Apr 2022 3 min read

The Spear's Schools Index, in Partnership with Carfax Education

Carfax Education, the leading global education group, today announced the launch of the second annual Spear’s Schools Index, the only official international ranking of top private schools.

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5 Apr 2022 3 min read

Single-Sex or Co-Educational Schools Top Tips To Consider.

The merits of single-sex schools or co-educational schools are continually up for debate. There is still a strong belief that single-sex schooling tends to be better for girls, whereas co-education provides a better learning environment for boys.

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5 Apr 2022 3 min read

Extra Curricular Activities Making the best choices

Many schools pride themselves on the number of ECA’s they have on offer, I have visited schools where the choices are literally in the 100’s! Striking the balance between giving your child the opportunity to extend themselves in some way versus having some down time and enjoying their childhood is always a challenge. To help you and your child make good choices we look at the benefits of some of the different extra curricular activities on offer.

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5 Apr 2022 2 min read

Returning to boarding school in the UK

The guidance for boarding school pupils with the right to reside in the UK who live in or are travelling through a red list country has changed with effect from 4th March. For those who do not have the right to reside in the UK the former guidance applies and hotel quarantine will still apply.

Boarding pupils from these countries no longer have to quarantine in government hotels, they can now quarantine at their schools in specially designated areas. Each pupil will have to be collected from the airport by a designated member of school staff. They will then travel back to the school in isolation, where they will then be able to quarantine on the school premises. Pupils arriving from ‘red countries’ will have to isolate for the full 10 days and will not be eligible for the test and early release scheme.

Schools will need to provide a copy of a letter from the Department for Education confirming that boarding school students are covered by an exception and also a letter from the school authorising their return. This letter will detail the arrangements for returning to school including the name of the person who will be collecting the pupil at the airport. This is in addition to the passenger locator form which will need to be completed with the details of where they will be quarantining. https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk

Before travelling all students must have a negative Covid test within 3 days of travelling. They will also have to pay to have tests on day 2 and day 8 of their quarantine. The test on day 2 is to check for any variants and on day 8 is to check that they are still covid free. This can be booked as a travel test package at a cost of £210. https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk

Once they arrive at the airport pupils will make their way to the managed quarantine collection point in the arrival hall where the member of staff will be waiting to collect them.

The transport to school needs to comply with social distancing arrangements, eg on a coach three rows of seats between students and the driver, a sitting plan will be produced for test and trace purposes, masks must be worn at all times and sanitiser will be available. There will be no options for stopping en route back to the school.

All ‘red country’ arrivals will be allowed to quarantine together in a covid secure ‘household’. Meals and toiletries will be provided and members of staff looking after the pupils will be suitably protected with PPE and will do regular lateral flow tests and a weekly PCR test.

Pupils will be able to arrive back at school in time to quarantine before school opens or if they can only return just before term begins, they will be able to continue their online learning from the boarding premises.

Schools and families will need to be in regular communication to ensure that all arrangements are clearly in place to ensure the smooth start to the new term.

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