Prof Alan Smithers

CEER's report setting out the background to tomorrow's GCSE results, and projecting what they are likely to be, is available to download at: buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer alansmithers.com

CEER's annual reports on A-levels and GCSEs are now available from the University of Buckingham's website: buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer/ The puzzle is why are top grades going up when education was so disrupted by Covid.

CEER has published its annual GCSE report. The puzzle is why have top grades kept going up when so much disruption was caused by Covid. It is free to download from CEER's website (alansmithers.com) and hopefully will soon be from the University's too.

CEER has published its Annual A-Level Report. It is available to download from alansmithers.com and hopefully will soon be from the University's website.

@KirbyVictoria Following you, Victoria, I hope Ron is okay, all best, Alan

@profsmithers Hi Alan, Ron Kirby’s daughter here. Please can you follow me so I can send a message? Many thanks

CEER's annual look at the prospects for GCSE results is available to download from the University of Buckingham website: buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/upl…?

@education720 @tes Look at the very small percentages of re-sits who passed GCSEs in English and maths on p.28 of the attached report - surely there is a better way of achieving something, which I agree is vital for children.

@tes @profsmithers Labour should "commit to protecting, and continuing to support, a policy that is unpopular at middle-class dinner parties, but which is vital for other people’s children" feweek.co.uk/all-parties-mu…

‘It looks to be utterly demoralising to pupils who find difficulty with these GCSEs’: @profsmithers calls on Labour to scrap the previous government’s policy of compulsory GCSE resits in English and maths tes.com/magazine/news/…

CEER's annual look at the prospects for GCSE results is available to download from its website: alansmithers.com

England’s provisional entries for A-levels in 2024 hinted that major changes are afoot, with social sciences down, languages up, and a move towards occupationally valuable subjects such as maths and computing. Report available: buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer; alansmithers.com

Top A-level grades are likely to be harder to come by this year. There is still some way to go to restore pre-pandemic standards. There could be as many as 16,000 fewer if the policy is fully delivered. Report available at: buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer; and alansmithers.com

CEER's annual look at A-level prospects is now available to download from the University and CEER websites: buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer; alansmithers.com

New book out today from Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton assessing the impact of the Conservatives 2010-24. In education, they began strongly rounding off the reforms of successive govts since the mid-80s, but with the rapid turnover of ministers they lost their way.

New book out today from Anthony Seldon assessing the impact of the Conservatives 2010-24. In education they began strongly rounding off the reforms of successive govts since mid-80s, but with the rapid turnover of ministers they lost their way.

A new approach to tackling three of the major problems in schools - discipline, persistent absence, and mental health - was lost when the Conservatives could not see how to develop character. Ironically, there was an excellent example in one of its new free schools – Michaela.

In contrast to schools, FE and HE have been treated dismally during the 14 Conservative Years. FE Colleges’ few years of independence was abruptly ended, and universities have become so tightly regulated as to, in effect, be ‘nationalised’.

The Partys’ manifestos have little to say on education which suggests they are largely content with what has emerged from the schools reforms begun by Baker in the 1980s, taken forward by Ken Clarke, Blunkett, Blair and Adonis, and brought to fruition by Gove and Gibb.

In Anthony Seldon’s latest book, I argue that in education the 14 Conservative Years were far from wasted. Reforms begun in the 1980s and built on by successive governments were brought to fruition, and England joined the leaders in the international league tables.

Excellent piece in today's Independent by CEER's new deputy director, Prof Alastair McCall, on Imperial College overtaking Oxford and Cambridge in the global university rankings.

Fab to be 1st guest of education guru ⁦@profsmithers⁩ Director of CEER based at @UniOfBuckingham⁩ in his new office in the heart of the campus.Pleased he’s settled & busily working on a book on education under the @conservatives which ⁦@AnthonySeldon⁩ is writing

@AnnaVignoles Very sad to hear that. I remember John from the early days at the OU, where he delivered a brilliant statistics course. He was quickly elevated to Reader. We've kept in touch over the years and I shall miss him.