Chris Bennett: Finding space for creative thinking

Academic attainment is high in everyone’s mind at the moment but has the national trait of ingenuity been marginalised too much? How can we get creativity back on the curriculum?

Despite the move to course work and continual assessment today’s kids are stressed out by grades. After uni graduates are left wondering what return they are going to get in exchange for a lifetime of tuition fee debt.

At 18 or 21 that grade or class of degree seems like the be-all and end-all but out in the real world interpersonal skills, ideas and passion cut the mustard. Soft skills have always been harder to gauge so teachers and lecturers have opted for the empirical. This shapes the labour market and the university intake. Every parent will be aware of the emphasis put on exam techniques in schools. Learning the system appears to have overtaken learning the subject, perhaps that is a good preparation for today’s world?