I would like to thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this important debate today. As a former teacher, I'm passionate about affording pupils the opportunities to capitalise on their talents and enable them to fulfil their ambitions. Whilst I recognise the progress that has been made, we still have a long path to tread, and we have to have a workable strategy in place to ensure success for Welsh pupils, not only for this generation, but for the generations to follow. Factually, this year's GCSE results are the worst in a decade, and it is noticed that curriculum changes have been further delayed. According to the head of Estyn, we won't see any significant progress until after 2022, and I feel that that's leaving it far too late for the current cohort of pupils. The current generation of pupils are our future, and we must ensure that all the stops are pulled out to give them every chance to succeed in their ambitions. These young people are our future doctors, our nurses, computer programmers, data scientists and business leaders. If we don't equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge, then how are they going to fulfil their dreams and ambitions? Without those skills, our economy will suffer and our health and social care sector will be understaffed, adding more pressure to an already pressurised environment.

Education is the foundation of our nation and the success of our economy is dependent on the success of our educational achievements and attainments of future generations. We have become too focused in meeting artificial targets rather than outcomes. Just this week, the Association of School and College Leaders highlighted that target pressures are seeing pupils being removed from school registers so that their grades do not count towards the school's performance measures. This is deplorable, and thankfully the Welsh Government has indicated that this will not be tolerated. 

However, this is the situation that has been created. Teachers are under immense pressure to meet performance targets despite falling budgets. We need to move away from artificial performance measures and focus on providing an education system that focuses upon the needs of the child. We have to have a curriculum that focuses upon the needs of our nation as well as the child, and above all, we have to ensure that schools have the resources to meet those needs.

This year's GCSE results are a wake-up call, but it is also an opportunity to look at things differently, and work on things that have maybe not been as successful as we want. So we've got this golden opportunity here, and as a person who believes strongly in devolution, and as a former teacher, I believe in giving our young people the opportunity. We have it in our hands. Come on, let's all work together and give everyone the opportunity they deserve so that we can all work together for a positive outcome. Thank you.