The study carried out by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) recommended that the education system in England be fundamentally changed so that students can thrive in a working environment increasingly shaped by automation and artificial intelligence. The current education landscape in England relies heavily on passive forms of learning that focus on direct teaching and memorization and needs more emphasis on the so-called four Cs – critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaborative problem solving, the agency said. Proposing to replace the exam system with new qualifications that include regular assessment between the ages of 16 and 18, the report suggested that a series of low-risk assessments for students at the end of secondary education could “help inform students and ask schools to account.” . Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Sir Tony Blair said of the current system: “While there is a place for these types of tests, we cannot rely on them alone: ​​they only measure certain skills, they do not always do so accurately and they invite narrowly targeted teaching styles on passing tests rather than building other basic skills. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “We have analog learning for a digital age: a paper-based system that revolves around snapshot judgments rather than assessing whether schools are preparing young people for the future they face. Meanwhile, some of the world’s top performers are stepping forward.” James Scales, head of skills policy at TBI, said: “While students elsewhere are learning how to think critically, communicate and solve problems as a team, our system remains firmly anchored in the past. This is holding back our youth and the country as a whole. Without the radical reform needed to produce a new generation of forward-thinkers, we will not build the high-wage, high-skills economy we need.” The report recommends the establishment of an expert committee to reform the national curriculum, one based on minimum literacy in numeracy, literacy and science, which will eventually incorporate more digital skills. It also mentions transferring responsibility for curriculum design to a non-political body and changing the strategy and approach of Ofsted, the school inspectorate, to focus on safeguarding and the quality of school management, as an integral part of the proposed changes . The focus on a narrow range of traditional academic subjects, referred to as the English Baccalaureate, or Ebacc, is causing other subjects to be overlooked, meaning government reforms have damaged learning and “stifled efforts to improve social mobility”, the report adds. . Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the report added to growing calls for “fresh thinking” about qualifications, the curriculum and inspection. Reform is needed because “at the current rate of progress the achievement gap between disadvantaged and other children will never close. We need a system that looks to the future and not a system rooted in the past,” he said. A Department for Education spokesman said: “GCSEs and A-levels are highly regarded around the world and we have also introduced T-levels as the new gold standard technical qualification for post-16s.”