* Vix Lowthion: ‘To amputate the arm of knowledge at this prime age of exploration is incredibly short sighted’
Green Party education spokesperson and A Level teacher Vix Lowthion has criticised the decision by the Department for Education’s exams regulator, Ofqual, to drop dozens of A Level subjects.
Lowthion, a secondary school teacher on the Isle of Wight, said the changes may maximise exam board profits but at ‘huge cultural and aspirational cost’. She called on the Government to step in and protect a ‘wide and varied education’.
Lowthion said:
"The list of A Level subjects scrapped after intervention by this Conservative Government is outrageously long. A Levels are a jewel in our education system - primarily because they allow for a depth of study at the same time as a breath of options, at an age where you are open to new ideas and broad horizons.
“To amputate the arm of knowledge at this prime age of exploration is incredibly short sighted and will have repercussions across the nation. Identical qualifications from a narrow pool of choices may generate maximum profits for exam boards - but at such a huge cultural and aspirational cost. The Government must intervene and protect a wide and varied education before it's too late."