Overview
- A new national curriculum takes effect in September 2028, with the final version due by spring 2027.
- Subject access shifts include scrapping the EBacc, giving arts GCSEs equal status, guaranteeing triple science for all, replacing the computer science GCSE with a broader computing course and exploring new data/AI and language qualifications.
- Citizenship becomes compulsory in primary schools, including media and financial literacy and teaching pupils to spot misinformation, alongside new enrichment benchmarks that Ofsted will inspect.
- GCSE exam time will be reduced by about 10%—roughly 2.5 to 3 hours on average—subject to work with Ofqual and exam boards to protect standards; the review also proposes year 8 diagnostic tests in English and maths separate from the government’s statutory reading test.
- Accountability changes are unresolved, with ministers pledging Progress 8 reform despite the review advising no structural change, and unions warning that staffing and funding pressures could hinder delivery.