PROPOSALS to scrap GCSEs in favour of a return to an O-level-style exam have drawn criticism from headteachers in Worcester.

The education secretary Michael Gove unveiled the plans in the House of Commons yesterday but they have not been welcomed locally.

They could see the formation of a two-tier education system where less able pupils take simpler qualifications similar to old-style CSEs and the end of the national curriculum.

Neil Morris, headteacher at Christopher Whitehead Language College, said: “The General Certificate of Secondary Education is a good exam and it tests children in a really difficult way. The old system tested your retention of knowledge, did it really prepare you for life?

“Young people need a more rounded education, more of a skills base and more literacy and numeracy skills.

“To go backwards is a retrograde step.”

Andy Rattue, headmaster of RGS Worcester, said: “I have got the feeling he has got this misty eyed view of O-levels that is misplaced. O-levels were not perfect and GCSEs are not perfect but I think we need to amend what we have got. You can’t just turn the clock back and expect that to be a panacea. The type of factual recall test that many O-level papers involved are perhaps not useful in preparing kids to be the workforce of the future.”

The proposals have also been criticised by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), with the union’s general secretary Russell Hobby calling for the standards of A grades to be raised instead of axeing GCSEs which were introduced in 1988.

Mr Hobby said: “The proposals for a two-tier exam system are more worrying. It didn’t work before and is even less likely to work in the modern economy.

“Indeed, the Government has missed an opportunity here for genuinely bold reform. Sixteen is no longer the end of education; we are not summing up a school career here, but at 18.

“Why not deliver a broad certificate of education earlier and spend three years on deep and challenging A-levels and high quality vocational study?”

The Government will launch a consultation on the plans in due course.