Pupils are celebrating another record-breaking set of exam results.

But the introduction of the new AS system is increasing calls for yet more reform, writes EMILY CLARK

Learning to dance may not appear to be a skill which would obviously complement maths and science.

But for eight students at Copthall School in Pursley Road, Mill Hill, it was both an opportunity for a new challenge and a chance to raise their grade profile.

Since it became an advanced supplementary (AS) option last year, more girls were inclined to pursue it, alongside more academic options.

The four pupils who continued the course through to A-level were rewarded for their efforts with grade As, and the other half of the class used the AS exams to their benefit when seeking higher education.

"They learnt how to work the system; they have retaken where they needed to and made the right choices," said headteacher Lynn Gadd.

This year's candidates had to adapt to a new system whereby students study four or five AS subjects, worth half an A-level, in lower-sixth and continue three of them in their final year. They were also required to sit six separate papers in each subject rather than one final exam.

As a result, Thursday's tables showed the proportion of A-level passes has risen this year to 94.3 per cent and more than one-fifth of candidates achieved an A grade. Although results have risen consecutively for 20 years, this is the fastest rise in the exam's 51-year history. At the current rate of improvement, by 2004 no-one will fail.

In response to this, Conservative education spokesman Damien Green has promised another inquiry into standards and vouched to axe the new AS-levels. The Institute of Directors wants A-levels renamed and taken only by the brightest 25 per cent.

Against that, many teachers are saying that they can't win. Principal of Woodhouse College, Ann Robinson, summed up the widespread feeling of resentment at criticism that standards have dropped.

"The Government has asked for higher standards and that is what we have delivered. It is very sad they now tell us we cannot have achieved that. We work to raise standards only to be told they cannot be raised."

She attributed the success to "an enormous effort" alongside a new structure which allows students to focus on their strengths. If measured by the percentage of entries that are A and B grades, Woodhouse College in Woodhouse Road, North Finchley, is fourth highest in the country.

Out of 1080 exam entries, 57 per cent achieved the top two grades. But the ingredients for success cannot be listed, according to Ms Robinson.

She said: "We believe in education as more than just a formula. There is a spirit behind it; we believe in the students and they believe in themselves."

It is difficult to say how long such sentiments can protect teachers' morale, which union members feel is already jeopardised by unsteady policies.

"The only thing that delivers the education is the hard work of teachers in the classroom; the Government does not deliver it through its initiatives," said Alan Homes, Barnet branch secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT).

"Constant initiatives during the last ten years have made teaching a destabilising profession. Teachers cannot be confident in an atmosphere which is changing all the time and is extremely demoralising. Teachers burn themselves out and increasingly seek retirement early. They work 60 hours a week to achieve these results and when the Government says this is a charade, they are going to be devastated.

"The Government needs to trust teachers more with what they are doing. Things need to move on but we need to evolve rather than to have a revolution every few months. Teachers have been doing something year on year but their agenda is being driven by media hype rather than educational need."

Another serious repercussion of the new sixth-form curriculum is that it has left some universities struggling to differentiate between the best candidates.

Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black, professors at King's College, London, are awaiting the publication of their study Standards of Public Examination.

"Whether standards are going up or down is not the issue standards have been broadly maintained. The problem is that we don't know how accurate examination grades are for individual students and they are of only limited use as predictors of future performance," said Professor Wiliam.

At the end of its first year, sixth-form exam reforms have pleased few people. Teachers and students are working doubly hard to adapt to new reforms. Traditionalists argue standards are slipping and many universities do not recognise the new AS qualification.

The reforms have encouraged higher grades but not a higher regard for Britain's public examination system. This year's students were guinea pigs in a trial which may yet require further reform. But they at least have the conciliation of their high grades.

Key facts:

- One in five A-levels awarded an A grade nationally, a rise of 10 per cent on last year

- A-level pass rates up from 89.8 to 94.3 per cent

- AS-level entries up from 794,117 to 995,404

- If present trends continue, by 2004 no-one will fail

August 20, 2002 19:30