Lucy Powell says proposals to end widespread practice will be included in overhaul of England’s national curriculum

Pushing GCSE subjects on younger pupils risks turning England’s secondary schools into “early exam factories”, the education secretary has said, warning it is increasing disengagement from education.

Lucy Powell wants schools to end the widespread practice of teaching GCSE topics to pupils in year 9 or earlier, before they officially start in year 10, and says she plans to reduce the amount of GCSE content to make it easier to fit into the official timetable.