Ex-footballer and entrepreneur Gary Neville has described exams as “prehistoric” and believes traditional assessments should be binned off for a better alternative as thousands of students are receiving their A-Level results this week.
The former Manchester United and England defender turned pundit, football commentator and co-owner of Salford City was appearing on BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning when he was asked his opinion on the current school systems and progression to A-Level and, in turn, university.
Neville, 48, who helped found the University Academy 92 higher education institution with his former Man United teammates and now business partners, stated. “I don’t believe you should work for 16 years at school and then it all depends on a two-hour assessment.”
I mean, he has a point — we’ve all had a bad exam (or three) in our time.
'I don't believe you should work for 16 years at school and then it all depend on a two hour assessment'
“I honestly believe that it needs ripping up; I think you should be judged on your body of work”, says Neville. “There are easier ways to gain consistency and assessment through marking people over their coursework and that does happen, obviously… but I believe we need to move it all towards that.”
Adding that there is one thing he agrees with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan on, who also appeared on the programme to discuss A-Level results day, he said that he also believes “in 10 years time no employer is going to look at your GCSEs, you’re A-Level result.
“They’re going to look at your experience in the workplace but to get into the workplace in the first place you may be judged on what you’ve achieved in these [exam] results and I think what you should have is a career passport: a body of work that you be able to proud and should be able to refer to your employers.
“They’re not going to look at an exam which is so robotic and methodical and is out of date, I believe, in 2023”. UA92, in contrast, takes a much more practical, often coursework-based approach to teaching and has made a real point of not just being another place to pick up a qualification.
With countless students across the UK having received their crucial A-Level results today, it is estimated that the proportion of A or A* grades is 27.2%, which is down from a peak of 44.8% during the pandemic — the steepest drop being in England, where 26.5% of exams papers received the top grade.
Interestingly, private and grammar schools saw the largest drop in top grades compared to last year despite still not making up for the disproportionate boost in grades those types of schools had over the course of the pandemic.
As The Guardian put it rather succinctly and based solely on the statistics, “the gap between private and state schools in England closed but private pupils are still far ahead”.
Do you agree with Gary Neville, are exams out of date in modern-day education and the professional world? Either way, for anyone getting their results today, just remember you’re much more than a grade. We once got you a U in science (we didn’t even know they existed).
Featured Image — BBC Breakfast (via Twitter)/Unsplash
News
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.
Danny Jones -
17th August 2023 
