THERE is plenty of room for improvements in our education system. There are also plenty of changes under way, although it’s fair to say many of them are not universally acclaimed.

Free schools and academies, for example, are transforming the traditional structure of the system.

At the same time, there is a new emphasis on promoting science and engineering as well as the acquisition of practical skills which are in demand from employers.

With all this going on, it’s not surprising that head teachers and teaching unions were united in their opposition to the recent surprise announcement by education secretary Michael Gove.

Out of the blue, he said he proposed to scrap GCSEs in core subjects like maths, science and English and replace them with the English Baccalaureate in 2015 – a very short lead-in time.

Now Mr Gove has done a U-turn and said he will instead reform the existing exam system.

It’s good that he’s admitted his error – but worrying that he rushed in with such an ill-thought-out scheme in the first place.