Petition Make A Levels the 16+ Progress Measure

England is 2 years behind world-leading countries such as China in basic areas such as Mathematics, Reading, Writing & Science. GCSE specifications do not help this. They require the demonstration of a very small, narrow and rigid set of skills which prove little. A Levels however are slightly better in that they promote critical thinking and evaluation more, whilst also ensuring great depth though not at the expense of great breadth. What is more A Levels are completed 2 years after GCSE courses and are at more or less the standard of the former O Level qualification. As such, I propose that all students be given the opportunity to take A Levels at age 15/16, not just in 3/4 subjects, but 8+, as per GCSEs. Not only would this redress our educational decline, it would make learning more worthwhile- a bar sufficiently yet sensibly high enough to aim for in addition to a relevant, engaging learning process which encourages analytic, evaluative and critical/creative thinking skills.