At Key Stage 3, the National Curriculum consists of the "core subjects" of English and Welsh, mathematics and science, and the "non-core subjects" of Welsh second language, modern foreign languages, design and technology, information technology, history, geography, art, music, physical education and religious education.
[1] Regular and systematic assessment of a pupil's ongoing progress throughout compulsory schooling is an essential complement to the National Curriculum.
The system of statutory national key-stage tests in Wales was, until 2000, the same as in England, and was managed by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA).
In July 2001 the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning in Wales announced that secondary school league tables would no longer be published, arguing that they did not have the support of either teachers or parents.
Subsequently, Welsh Baccalaureate programmes have been introduced for study at three levels, Foundation, Intermediate or Advanced between ages 14–19 years.
In 2013, Angela Burns, Welsh education spokesperson for the Conservative Party, said, "We've failed in our international rankings, our pupils are consistently at the bottom of the tables.