Teenagers’ brains not ready for GCSEs, says neuroscientist

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore opposes timing of exams in a period of major cognitive change

Teenagers are being damaged by the British school system because of early start times and exams at 16 when their brains are going through enormous change, a leading neuroscientist has said.

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore said it was only in recent years that the full scale of the changes that take place in the adolescent brain has been discovered. "That work has completely revolutionised what we think about this period of life," she said.