The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a school performance indicator in England linked to the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results.
Its intentions then were; to ensure all age 16 students left with a set of academic qualifications, to strengthen the position of 'core subjects' in schools and to increase social mobility.
To gain access to universities in the United Kingdom and around the world, students are required to study and take exams for GCSEs and GCE Advanced Level or the International Baccalaureate which has increased in popularity in recent years.
[4] In their election manifesto (14 April 2015), Cameron, the British Conservative Party politician declared that under their office, the UK government would make the English Baccalaureate a compulsory qualification to be completed by every 16 year student in secondary schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
[5] By the time this was put out to consultation by Nicky Morgan in November both the 100% goal and the reasons has changed: Computer Science has now been included with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as an acceptable qualification.
Parents, when polled, said they didn't need more indicators about their school but were worried about the narrowing of the curriculum and its impact on non-EBacc subjects.
[6] According to the Coalition Government spokespersons, Nick Clegg and Michael Gove, the (supposed) dumbing down of GCSEs was one of the motivating factors.
The Government stated that it planned for the new qualifications to be more "rigorous", with exams to be taken at the end of the two-year course, rather than bi-annually as occurs under the modular GCSE system.