PETITIONRejectedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Modernise the GCSE System - Reduce Exam Load on Young People
We urge the government to review the entire GCSE programme to move to alternative methods of assessment. The outcome should be to reduce the number and intensity of exams to ensure our education system supports both academic success and student wellbeing.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
11
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 11/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 11/100,000
Background
Students in the UK are subject to one of the most exam-heavy systems in the developed world. The current GCSE system over-burdens 15/16-year old students with an excessive number of formal examinations which are concentrated within a short time period and duplicated across multiple papers of the same subject. This approach is highly stressful and doesn't demonstrate the student's true potential or assimilation of the subject.