OCR claims proposed state-run exam system would be ‘Corbyn-esque’

Simon Lebus, group chief executive of Cambridge Assessment and chair of the OCR exam board said the initiative would risk creating 'a vehicle for a much greater degree of political involvement in the education system'.

Lebus said the effective nationalisation of the exam boards 'sounds like a rather improbably Corbyn-esque solution for a Conservative government to want to implement'.

TES reported in January that ministers were readying plans for a single exam board amid fears of falling standards. The option is expected to be considered by several officials, after Schools Minister Nick Gibb ordered that options should be reviewed in order to reform exam boards.

According to Lebus, exam boards were already 'geared up for a period of major upheaval, effective from now until 2019'.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We recognise the need to ensure that the exam system operates effectively, which is why we are considering long-term reforms to the exam board system.

"As always, we would listen carefully to the views of teachers, parents and employers.”

Read more