Striking the balance

“This is a vital step towards renewing and improving curriculum and assessment in England. Now the real work begins.”

Cambridge OCR’s Myles McGinley on the BBC’s Today programme

Reforms that benefit students and teachers

Cambridge OCR’s landmark Striking the balance review, published in 2024, has emerged as a pivotal contribution to the national conversation on education reform, highlighting our unique position as an advocate for positive change in assessment and curriculum design.

Chaired by former Education Secretary Charles Clarke, the review of 11–16 curriculum and assessment found that students in England are spending around 31.5 hours taking GCSE exams – more than almost anywhere else in the world. The review recommends rebalancing assessment away from a sole reliance on exams at 16, urging a more holistic approach across 11–16 education.

‘Over-stuffed curriculum and an over-reliance on exams’

Striking the balance combined extensive stakeholder engagement together with our academic research and international outlook to benchmark the UK’s assessment approach against global standards.

It was developed through consultation with thousands of teachers, students, experts and stakeholders to understand the problems they were experiencing with the curriculum and assessment, as well as what they wanted to see changed, reflecting our commitment to advocating for teachers and learners across the entire education system.

It makes ambitious, evidence-based recommendations for reform and improvements to the whole educational ecosystem, including those to:

Reduce the number of assessments used at GCSE
Reduce the content of the GCSE curriculum
Create a new short course GCSE Maths qualification to help students gain the fundamental maths skills they need for life and work
Redesign the unpopular English Language GCSE as a matter of urgency
Add climate education and digital literacy to the current curriculum

“OCR’s proposals to reduce the length, number and content of assessments, and to reform GCSE English and Maths, are spot on.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)

Cambridge OCR shaping the future of UK education

The launch of Striking the balance attracted substantial policy and media attention, and its recommendations have gained significant traction.

It has been cited in the interim report from the UK Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review. After sessions at both Labour and Conservative party conferences, Cambridge’s Jill Duffy and Tim Oates were called as witnesses to the House of Commons Education Select Committee on Curriculum and Assessment Review.

The Government’s interim report adopted key parts of the proposals, particularly in reducing assessment and content in GCSEs, reforming Maths and English, and introducing a more relevant curriculum, including greater digital literacy and climate education.

Harnessing AI in a human-centred way in UK schools

The Striking the balance review explored how technology, particularly AI, can enhance secondary education by identifying students’ existing skills and learning gaps. It emphasised the need for clear principles to ensure ethical and effective use of AI and called for a redesign of coursework to help students fully benefit from AI support.