Curriculum and Assessment Review

In July 2024, the government commissioned Professor Becky Francis CBE to convene and chair a panel of experts to review the existing national curriculum and assessment system in England.

Their aim was to ensure the curriculum and assessment system is fit for purpose and prepares students for life and work.

Following an interim report published in March 2025, the government has now published its final report.

Included in the report are a number of Cambridge OCR's recommendations to improve education for students and teachers, including:

• a reduction in GCSE exams
• a more relevant national curriculum, including topics like digital literacy and oracy
• reforms to English and maths.

“The thoughtful, targeted reforms in this review will be welcomed by a sector with limited capacity. But even laser-focused change will cost schools and colleges time and resources that are in short supply. With no slack in the system, schools will need support to properly implement changes. Otherwise this will be a wasted opportunity.” Myles McGinley, Cambridge OCR's Managing Director

Read our full response in our news story.

At Cambridge OCR we're committed to making assessment straightforward and are here to support teachers and students at every step of the way.

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If you have questions about the report, or would like to discuss what it may mean for you and your students, please submit your details on the form below and we'll be in touch.

Striking the balance: A review of 11-16 curriculum and assessment in England was our major report published in September 2024. Our review, chaired by former Education Secretary Charles Clarke, warned that the current volume and intensity of exams at GCSE is too high, and an overloaded curriculum is narrowing students’ education.

Cambridge OCR has led calls for reform to both curriculum and assessment, and our original research and consultation with teachers and students have helped to shape a consensus that there is too much assessment at 16, too much content in GCSEs, and not enough support for those who struggle with maths and English.

In our response to the review, and elsewhere, we have called for the following priorities:

• A reduction in the volume of assessment at GCSE, which our Striking the Balance report found was an international outlier.
• A reduction in the size of the GCSE curriculum, with teachers warning it leaves no time to develop breadth or depth of knowledge.
• Urgent reforms to maths and English, including improvements to the “lost opportunity” of Key Stage 3, and help for schools to identify gaps in student knowledge before they begin their GCSEs, through standardised testing.
• A more relevant curriculum that provides skills and knowledge needed by students in the twenty-first century workplace, particularly oracy, financial education, digital and media literacy, and sustainability.

Keep updated with the blog posts that we’ve published on the subject:

Read our policy new articles: