He's done it because he wants all students to work harder and therefore get better grades, so we can compete overall with countries like Asia etc. Other than that, what's the benefit? It's seriously stripping kids away from their childhood, as soon as they get in year 7 now it's all about mocks and exams (I actually read through a year 7 geography exam they're being made to do and it was talking about contour lines, converting grid references, case studies) and my sister who is in year 8 is already learning about lipase and how it breaks down fats into lipids and such and it's just such a mess.
YES educate children, YES a test should determine whether you are able to go to university or not, NO to making it so difficult and putting so much stress on kids. People aren't going to be able to get jobs etc in the future because they'll all be looking for students fresh out of university, so poverty is going to increase and the amount of people claiming benefits is going to increase. It's just a mess