Conservatives pledge to halt on-screen exams and cut coursework in England

The Conservatives say they would stop the introduction of on-screen school exams in England and reduce coursework if they returned to power, arguing the changes would limit pupils’ reliance on generative AI.

The party also proposes limiting secondary pupils’ screen time to two hours a day and keeping screen use in primary schools to a minimum. Its plans would make laptops and tablets no longer the “default in classrooms”, shadow education secretary Laura Trott said.

Most school exams in the UK are already taken on paper. Exam regulator Ofqual consulted last year on introducing on-screen assessments, but said pen and paper would remain central and that the most widely taken subjects would not move to digital exams for the foreseeable future.

The Conservative announcement comes as the government develops guidance on children’s screen use. The Department for Education says it will publish advice for parents of children aged five to 18 in the new year. Education is devolved, so any party pledge on schools in England would not automatically apply across the UK.

The Conservatives say they would also redirect £900m that they say the government spends on educational technology, creating a £250m fund for textbooks. The department said schools decide how to use their own budgets, including spending on technology.

A recent government survey found that 89% of teachers used interactive whiteboards in lessons in 2024. But most teachers said pupils used individual devices in fewer than a quarter of lessons, or not at all: 79% in primary schools and 69% in secondary schools.

Trott cited clinicians’ concerns about children’s screen use. More than 150 clinicians warned last month that screen time at school could harm children’s physical and developmental health. The Conservatives’ proposals are party pledges, rather than current government policy.