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Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland, has written for the Times Higher Education, calling for reform of the examination culture in the UK, suggesting a move to a "more robust structure of real-world assessment."

He writes:

"The current model of examination favours students who possess strong powers of memory and recall. But it is applied knowledge and skills that really matter – and education should be designed and delivered in a way that confers lifelong benefits for learners, beyond the lecture rooms and labs.

"Seldom in life, beyond education, are we locked in a room and then required to recall information or create a coherent narrative in a time-limited period, without access to information or permission to speak with others. So why do we think exam-based assessments are fair, realistic or useful?"

Read the article in full here.