News Report Script Presenter: Tonight. The Governments plan to replace GCSEs with an English Baccalaureate Certificate.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has revealed that GCSE exams in core subjects such as English, Maths, and Science will be scrapped, to be replaced by a single end-of-course exam and one exam board for core subjects. Torquay Boys Grammar School is one of the institutes that will be affected by this change. Also tonight. Brixham Coastguard Station on the brink of closure, as the government aim to pull the plug on a number of stations across the country by 2014. We hear what local residents have to say and how it will affect them. Should it stay or should it go? Torbays controversial giant Palm has been described as a giant phallic symbol and some residents are calling to have it removed. VOX POPS. Well have the latest from Torquay. INTRO PLAYED Presenter: Good evening, welcome to the TBC News at 6.30. Today, it has emerged that GCSE exams are to be scrapped. The government has decided that a new English Baccalaureate Certificate (or EBCs) is a better option for exams in the core subjects. For students starting secondary school this year, this will mean one exam board and one big exam once they reach the end of year 11, so no more modules throughout the year. With the first of these exams to take place in 2017, this change follows concerns that competition between different exam boards leads to a race to the bottom, where they aim to attract more business by making it easier to pass. However, reactions to this change are divided. Taylor Jones, our education correspondent, reports from Torquay. Reporter: The end of GCSEs will mean big changes for schools, pupils and teachers across the country. Here at Torquay Boys Grammar School, reactions to this change are mixed, with some preferring the single-exam approach, whilst others think there will be too much pressure on students with the knowledge that they cannot re-sit exams. (Freeze-frame, black/white, key details shown) Michael Gove has declared that the new scheme will mean: one standard exam board across all schools, one big exam at the end of the year assessing the students knowledge of the whole course, no more coursework, and no more re-sitting exams. (Walking towards camera) Torquay Boys Grammar School has voiced concerns that this new scheme is unfair on students. Those who are to sit the exams for the first time in 2017, will be acting as guinea pigs, potentially putting their futures on the

line, while current GCSE students are being slated by the government as receiving too much help from their parents. VOX POPS (Miss Moore, Mr Kraz, Mr Koz, Year 7 students, parents, someone acting as MP) Reporter: Despite their concerns, Torquay Boys Grammar School do think that in the long-run, this new qualification will allow grades to be more representative of childrens ability, as the government closes the door on GCSEs. Taylor Jones, TBC News, Torquay Presenter: We have student representative Charlie Mott here with us. Thank you for joining us, what do you think about the exam shake-up? Charlie: Well, reactions are very much mixed. Some students are saying that they are relishing only having to take one exam, whereas others thinking that there will be too much pressure. I think overall students are worried that if they dont do well in their exams, or just have a bad day, they have no chance to rectify it. Presenter: Is that a good thing that though, that students cant just re-sit exams til they achieve top grades? Charlie: Possibly. Seeing that Michael Gove wants to cap the number of students who receive top grades at 10%, it appears that it will fulfil this aim. But it is worth considering that some students do just have a bad day or dont like the questions in which case they may be worth a better grade than they may achieve. Presenter: Charlie thanks very much. The closure of Brixham Coastguard Station