Critical Thinking A-level loses appeal

Critical Thinking, the subject which has shown the sharpest fall in popularity this year, is meant to teach pupils how to unpick complex arguments and develop assertions that are not their own. The OCR exam board's A-level in the subject instructs teachers to take pupils through how they can consider arguments from a "variety of moral and ethical standpoints". The AQA exam board's A-level in the subject includes a unit on reasoning and decision-making and another on information, influence and explanation. NCC Home Learning, which offers the subject, says it is for "people who question what they read in the newspaper and enjoy reading between the lines, by analysing the language used in a logical way". The subject has been taken at AS-level – the first year of A-level – since 1999 and can now be taken at A-level with at least three boards.