This February, practitioners, educationalists and thinkers came together to discuss the curriculum at Haberdashers” Hall.
The Haberdashers’ Company was delighted to host the Next Generation Assessment Conference on Tuesday 24 Feb 2026, bringing together education practitioners to explore how principles of innovation and equity in assessment can be meaningfully enacted in schools.
The subject of the event aligned with our recent submission to the Curriculum and Assessment Review and offered a valuable opportunity to consider what a Haberdasher education might look like in the future. At the Haberdashers’ Company we seek to convene forward-thinking, and often challenging, conversations to continue to strive towards our purpose of ’empowering young people from every background to fulfil their potential’.
Throughout the day, speakers shared compelling insights and practical strategies, drawing on examples from a wide range of educational settings. The importance of getting this right was brought into sharp focus when Clara, a recent Year 11 student, shared her experience of feeling that exam pressures diminished her confidence and self worth. Her story underscored a message echoed by many contributors: no child should leave education feeling worse about themselves.
At the heart of the Haberdashers’ Advantage programme is our belief that every student has skills and talents that deserve to be nurtured, recognised and celebrated. Alongside academic achievement, we prioritise leadership development, belonging, and confidence-building as essential elements of a rounded education. To thrive in the world you need strong qualifications, skills of the mind, skills of the hand and skills of the heart – this is what we seek to create through our schools and through the Haberdashers’ Advantage. This was echoed at the conference by reference to ‘resume skills’ and ‘eulogy skills’ and ways we can encourage students to develop both the attributes that will make them employable and create value in society.
Nonetheless, there are challenging questions to grapple with. How can schools create assessment systems that genuinely support student success while also meeting the expectations of industry, parents, communities and government? These priorities do not always sit in tension — but they will not always perfectly align. And with the rapid growth of AI, we are forced to consider how might emerging technologies transform the assessment landscape altogether? Is this the end of traditional homework? How can we ensure that AI is of benefit to the most disadvantaged students, and they are not left behind.
These conversations will continue across the Haberdasher family of schools through our Working Together programme, and by connecting with partners across the sector.
