It is not just Prime Minister Boris Johnson who has been imploring us to BUILD BACK BETTER. Even US President Joe Biden has used this same phrase to describe his own plans to reshape America in response to the pandemic. 

So what would BUILDING BACK BETTER look like in the context of our education system? Plenty of attention and debate has focused on the question of what exams in England should look like in future, or indeed whether exams should exist at all. 

But within those same debates about the future of assessment, an interesting policy question has emerged: if we want to build back better, should we build a Baccalaureate in the final years of secondary education?  

Would a Baccalaureate offer some advantages over the current mix of academic and technical qualifications? And even if a Baccalaureate is indeed a good idea in principle, could it realistically be delivered in the coming years?  

To give us their views on the potential upsides and downsides of introducing a Baccalaureate in England, our two guests today offer a wealth of experience stretching from the classroom all the way up to advising government ministers. 

Tom Sherrington is a former teacher and headteacher and is now an education consultant, author and blogger. 

And Tim Oates CBE is Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment. 

CLICK HERE TO BROWSE INSIDE YOUR ED'S BACK CATALOGUE

FOLLOW INSIDE YOUR ED ON TWITTER / X