As a teacher of 20 years I have always been committed to the highest possible standards of my students and stretch them as far as possible. I am absolutely dismayed at Westminster education secretary Michael Gove’s announcement that the GCSE is not demanding enough and has to be replaced.

Students will be severely disadvantaged by 100 per cent exams which only test a very narrow set of skills. There is very little evidence that this new qualification will improve standards; indeed, even the French education secretary is going to move the baccalaureate to continuous assessment, and this from one of the most academically demanding courses in the world.

How exactly does a three-hour memory exercise prepare students for life? Does Mr Gove memorise everything he does, or rely more on his ability to research and synthesise information?

Mark Sutherland, Leicester.