I think it's the internet.

People are able to use computers and research topics much quicker than having to use crappy school/public libraries for info/quotes.

So you reckon teenage boys are using the internet for their school studies?

Which is a good thing. Being able to 'reason' and 'opine' and 'discuss' are skills which are carried through life. Learning facts that are forgotten the day after the exam is pointless.

I remember when I sat my A levels this debate had already started and people were saying the same then. It's probably true, and I admit that I always used very old (mid 80s) past papers to practice on for this very reason. However, this is a debate that has gone on, to my knowledge, for at least 14 years and it's boring.

In today's world you don't have to know everything... you just need to know where to look.

I just hope the girls are looking at the same. A generation of nypmhs for when I hit my mid life crisis is no bad thing.

All well and good provided you'll look like a really fit 20-year old when you're there. Like me.

As already said, I did 5+General Studies. To be fair though, I did Maths and GS a year early, and crammed Further Maths into a year.

My results would have been massively improved had I taken off to Germany for a month in the summer after Lower 6th. Ho hum.

But what's the point of exams if they are easy (which some undoubtedly are). I don't care about knowing where to look.........

"Do you have any qualifications or experience?"
"No, but I can use Google."
"Fine - the job's yours..............."

No thanks - knowledge and education are a good thing in their own right.

Oh, don't get me wrong - I never said exams should be easy - but they should not be about rote learning either - they should test the ability to think and apply knowledge to unfamiliar situations. How much of the material you have rote learnt in obtaining various qualifications have you actually used later in life?

I would much rather someone saying - 'oh, I know a little bit about that, let me find out more and come back to you with the answer' over 'no, sorry, I don't know how to do that - do you have a template I can fill in'