A ball is a ball. You might call it something else, like a sphere – or heck, if you're feeling crazy, even a square. But, when the day is done, the ball will still be a ball.

And so to exam grades. Last week, Education Minister, Michael Gove, announced that a radical change to the grading system for GCSEs is in the offing.

Now, if you’ve read my column before, you may know that I am not a fan of Mr Gove, the meddler that he is in the education of our children, a system that, if you project 30 years ahead, is the most vital area for which the Government is responsible. Get education right, and you get the country right.

So why on earth do we have yet more changes? Take the latest one – the grading system.

Currently, GCSE papers are graded with A* as the highest mark down to G as the lowest. So far, so simple. Except now Gove is proposing a numerical system where 1 will take the place of A* and so on until you reach a G grade.

The reason given for the change is that a numerical system would make it easier for universities to differentiate between candidates, allowing the more competitive institutions to award places to the brightest students.

And so I bring you back to balls and what we call them. You see, as far as I can tell, whether you use the alphabet to grade exams or numbers, the outcome is still the same: a result. And that’s what this is all about – a result.

A result for our children, thousands of students across Gloucestershire sitting GSCEs right now, from Katharine Lady Berkeley's School in Wotton to Winterbourne Academy.

Their results are their reality – and no Government grading system meddling will alter that, never mind the money it will cost to change it all, money that is desperately needed elsewhere for standard things like books, pencils, excellent teachers.

Back in April, the Department of Education came under fire for apparently stonewalling questions about its own “exceptionally poor performance”. So, perhaps if Michael Gove spent more time improving his own department than he does shaking up the education system, our children would stand a better chance.

Because, at the end of the day, when they’re out in the world, a ball is still a ball.

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here