Do we want high grades or pupils who will thrive?

TODAY'S GCSE results will bring welcome news to scores of hardworking pupils. You have to do well to score an A* to C grade in any subject, and 61.2 per cent of entries being of high quality is good news.

But raw exam scores do not offer a satisfactory measure of the health of the education system. Of all the figures out today, the most depressing is the decrease in entries for languages.

Business leaders are horrified - and this is only the beginning. Next summer we will see the full effect of the Government's decision to make languages optional at GCSE. The decline in entries will be dramatic again.

So we need to decide what we want from our schools: higher percentages of high grades year after year, or the determination to give our pupils all the tools they will need to ensure that this country can thrive in an international market.

The pursuit of high grades is now driving out "tricky" subjects.

And what of gender differences? Year after year, boys struggle to match girls' performances in exams. In particular, it is at the very highest grades that the difference is now striking. Historical and international comparisons reassure us that it is a hard nut to crack.

Theories, along with DfES strategies, abound but two key points jump out.

Firstly, it is those children who are strong readers when they leave primary school who are likely to be successful at GCSE, and we know we have a long way to go in keeping boys reading well to age 11 and beyond.

Secondly, I am struck time and again by the sight of a listless group of boys in a classroom who come alive when they go outside, rehearse with their band or play football. Active learning seems to suit boys far more than desk-bound lessons. That may well turn out to be the most rewarding strategy to pursue.

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