HC Deb 26 February 1992 vol 204 cc517-8W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his answer of 3 February,Official Report, column 42, how he proposes to ensure comparability between English courses: what regulation he proposes to make to ensure that the omission of statements of attainment from examination does not change the range, competence or quality of the examination offered; and what regulatory body will be responsible for supervising such regulations.

Mr. Eggar

The School Examinations and Assessment Council will shortly be issuing criteria in English and the other core subjects with which the examining bodies will need to comply in drawing up syllabuses for the assessment of pupils starting key stage 4 courses from September 1992 for first examination in summer 1994. I am satisfied that these will ensure the broad comparability between syllabuses which will be required by the national curriculum assessment arrangements, to be specified in orders due to be made later this year, while giving scope for a certain amount of variation.