Category: 0 Archive

• This week marks the start of exam season, where a further 20 new GCSEs will be sat for the first time
• The reformed qualifications will help pupils progress into further education, higher education and employment says the CBI

Hundreds of thousands of pupils are preparing to take new, more rigorous GCSE exams this week, which are on a par with the best performing education systems in the world, the School Standards Minister announced today.

The gold-standard qualifications for 20 new GCSEs – including the sciences, French, German, Spanish, history and geography – have been designed with employers in mind. These qualifications are underpinned by more rigorous content, which has been welcomed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for preparing pupils for future careers in the industries that Britain needs. The new science GCSEs now includes space physics and the human genome and the new Computer Science GCSE now includes greater focus on programming.

Schools Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

These more rigorous, gold-standard GCSEs are helping to nurture the next generation of scientists, linguists and historians. Whatever pupils want to do with their lives, these qualifications will prepare them for future success and help deliver the skills Britain needs to be fit for the future.

Thanks to our reforms and the hard work of teachers, education standards are rising in our schools and last year, teachers and pupils responded well to the new English and maths exams. I wish pupils all the very best as they prepare to sit these exams and I look forward to celebrating their success in the summer.

The start of these exams follows the recent news of funding to train up to 8000 existing computing teachers to teach the new GCSE – that is enough to ensure every secondary school in England has a teacher who can support pupils to succeed.

The new GCSEs will be graded 9 to 1, with 9 being the top grade to allow more differentiation between the highest performing pupils and so that employers can identify the new, more rigorous qualifications.

It builds on the success of last year’s changes to GCSE maths and English which saw 59.1 per cent of pupils achieving a grade 4 or above.

Standards are rising in schools thanks to these reforms and the hard work of teachers, which has resulted in 1.9 million more children in good or outstanding schools than 2010.

The government’s Industrial Strategy highlighted a shortage of STEM skills. There is a need to increase number of people able to study for STEM degrees to support the current economy and its growth. The reforms to GCSEs and A levels, as well as these teaching programmes are just two of the ways this is being achieved.

The Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Research Mission covers several of Baroness Jowell’s campaign requests, and will include a boosted research fund, an annual global symposium and new commitments to clinical excellence in her name.

This follows a meeting Tessa Jowell had with the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary in Downing Street in February.

Commenting, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Baroness Tessa Jowell faced her illness with dignity and courage – and it was a privilege to host her in Downing Street recently to discuss what more we can do to tackle brain cancer. We send our sincere condolences to her family – and I hope that the actions we are taking now and in the future to improve care and research for those confronting a terrible disease will form part of the lasting legacy of an inspirational woman.

Announcing the Mission, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:

Tessa Jowell was one of those few politicians who could inspire and unite across party lines. We were all moved by her bravery and selfless campaigning in her final months, and are determined to honour her life and memory with the action on brain cancer that she fought so hard for. At this agonising time, I hope her family can draw comfort from the fact that her legacy will be lives saved and heartbreak averted for thousands of other families.’

Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy will lead the work to implement these commitments. Lord O’Shaughnessy said:

We are deeply saddened by this loss – Tessa Jowell did more than anyone to shine a light on the need to improve research and care for people with brain cancer.

It is a great privilege and honour to take forward this work, which we hope will boost life-saving research and transform brain cancer care in the way that Tessa called for.

The research fund will initially consist of £65 million, and we will aim to increase it each year as high quality research proposals that can boost outcomes for people diagnosed with brain cancer emerge. £40 million in Government funding will be bolstered by £25 million from Cancer Research UK, on top of the £13 million it spends each year on research and development of cancer treatments.

This research will be backed by new clinical commitments – including a national rollout of one of the key brain cancer diagnosis tests, gold standard dye, which is used to identify tumours. This dye is currently only used in half of brain cancer centres in England.

There is also a new commitment to accelerate the use of adaptive trials – to test different treatments at the same time and speed up the process.

In addition, the UK Government will host a new Tessa Jowell global symposium, which will bring together the best clinical, scientific and academic minds on brain cancer, in order to identify gaps, best practice and priorities in research.

Each year around 11,400 people in the UK are diagnosed with a brain tumour and just 14% of people survive their disease for 10 or more years. It is hoped the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission will stimulate innovative new research and clinical practice to boost outcomes of people diagnosed with brain tumours.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister held a telephone call with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani this afternoon.

The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s position that we and our European partners remain firmly committed to ensuring the Iran nuclear deal is upheld. She said it is in both the UK and Iran’s national security interests to maintain the deal and welcomed President Rouhani’s public commitment to abide by its terms, adding that it is essential that Iran continues to meet its obligations.

The Prime Minister made clear that the UK condemns the Iranian missile attacks against Israeli forces and called on Iran to refrain from any further attacks. She said it was important to avoid provocative actions to ensure peace and security in the region.

The Prime Minister also raised the issue of consular cases relating to dual nationals currently held on charges in Iran and called for further progress to be made so individuals could be released on humanitarian grounds.

Both leaders agreed the importance of continued dialogue between the two countries, and looked forward to the meeting of UK, German, French and Iranian foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday where they will be joined by the EU’s foreign affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini to discuss the Iran nuclear deal and next steps.

The FCO has provided consular support to both British Nationals and their families throughout.

The British Ambassador to DRC, John Murton said: « The UK would like to thank the DRC authorities and MONUSCO for their assistance in resolving this kidnapping. I would like in particular to praise the courage and commitment shown by the ICCN and the Virunga Park authorities over the past three days.

My deepest condolences are with the family, friends and colleagues of Rachel Makisa Baraka, the Virunga ranger killed during the kidnapping.
I wish the driver injured during the incident a speedy recovery. The bravery and determination of all the staff of Virunga is vital for the conservation of animals in the park, and the protection of local communities. »

Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt MP said:

Today was an historic day for Iraq. I congratulate the Iraqi people on another successful election.

I also congratulate the Iraqi security forces and electoral authorities for ensuring a peaceful and orderly ballot in a challenging environment including regrettable reports of attacks aimed at disrupting today’s vote.

We look forward to the announcement soon of the full and final result and will work with all political groups to encourage formation of an effective, inclusive government that addresses the needs and hopes of all Iraqi citizens.

The UK and Iraq enjoy a strong bilateral relationship, share great hopes for the future and a commitment to work together in our common interest. We look forward to working with the next government to help deliver stability, security and prosperity for all Iraqis.

Further information

• follow the Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt on Twitter @AlistairBurtUK
• follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Media enquiries

Email newsdesk@fco.gov.uk

Newsdesk 020 7008 3100

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister held a telephone call with US President Donald Trump this evening.

The Prime Minister began by congratulating the President on the safe return of three US citizens who had been held in prison in North Korea.

The two leaders looked forward to the summit which will take place between President Trump and Kim Jong-un in Singapore. The PM said the UK would continue to work with the US to keep up the pressure on North Korea to denuclearise.

The Prime Minister and the President condemned the Iranian rocket attacks against Israeli forces earlier this week, and strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. They agreed on the need for calm on all sides and on the importance of tackling Iran’s destabilising activity in the region.

The Prime Minister reiterated the Government’s position on the Iran nuclear deal, noting that we and our European partners remain firmly committed to ensuring the deal is upheld, as the best way of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The Prime Minister raised the potential impact of US sanctions on those firms which are currently conducting business in Iran. They agreed for talks to take place between our teams.

Finally, the Prime Minister and the President looked forward to the President’s visit to the UK in July.