§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from parents and teachers concerning the implementation of the general certificate of secondary education.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe Department has received many representations about the GCSE from parents and teachers. The main concerns have been about the national programme of training for teachers, the provision of adequate resources for books and equipment and the availability of GCSE syllabuses. The measures which my right hon. Friend announced on 13 March met these concerns by enabling all teachers to take part in the training programme and by proposing to direct £20 million of expenditure to books and equipment for the GCSE. On the availability of syllabuses, the Secondary Examinations Council has approved some 170 draft syllabuses and is on course to approve the remainder by the end of this month. Some syllabuses have already been sent to schools and the GCSE examining groups plan to distribute the others as soon as possible. But the draft syllabuses, in schools for several months, and the GCSE national criteria, in schools for a year, have enabled teachers to plan sensibly for the first GCSE courses.