I am currently doing my GCSE exams which are what precede A levels in England. In my school we do 9 subjects for these and then drop 5 of them for A level. This means that after spending between 2 to 8 years (some subjects are started later) learning a subject we take a exam which last a few hours and then never need to think about it ever again. This seems a bit wasteful to me in terms of time, effort and simple resources like paper and ink. Although the paper in England is usually from sustainable sources it still uses energy to manufacture and to recycle.

I guess I just find it worrying that I have spend a sizeable chunk of my adolescent life working hard towards something which allows me to continue working hard at a higher level. First I wanted to be in a good set at primary school. Then I wanted to get into a good secondary school, then I needed to prove I was good enough to do so many GCSEs which would prove I was suitable for A levels. This allows me to go to university and work hard for a degree which just might, if I am lucky, get me a good job where I can continue to work to make money to buy things for myself. In this time I will have probably forgotten around 90% of what I learnt to get to the next step of the system. I have studied three languages, three humanities (RS geography and history), English literature and English language, all of which I have now dropped and will never need to learn again because I now only need to learn science and maths. At university I probably only do physics. Why does it take about 14 years (this might vary depending on country) of my life to show society that I can go and learn physics at university when I could probably have learnt the same physics just fro videos and articles on the Internet?

So, here are few questions for you to discuss:

• Should education be about testing children's ability?
• Should things which do not help this be removed from the system?
• Should it be more accurate as a measurement of value?
• Should it be about preparing children for life?
• Should we learn fewer or more subjects?
• Do you support and approve of your countries education system?
• How much should be spent on education?
• How long should we be educated for?

2nd edit: Answer as many or as few of the questions as you want. You do not need to even answer or reference the questions, they are there as guidelines. Any other opinions on the subject are welcome but please be articulate

Edit: I would also like to know which subjects you think should be taught at schools from what ages.