As ever, in the wake of UK grade results, the media’s trying to assess precisely what happened this year, and whether it was good or bad. One major element: grades were up but ‘good’ English grades were down.

It’s pretty strange to see press responses to these results, broadly praising removing listening/speaking components and coursework from GCSE English. I would have thought that many modern workplace environments would require precisely those things in order for someone to succeed. Regurgitation of facts within a stressful exam environment never struck me as the best way to assess anyone’s competence in a subject. Making it the sole way in any subject seems absurd.