A FORMER Dorset MP has called for "urgent change" after it was revealed that seven in ten teachers across the South West wish schools were preparing students for more than just exams.

Survey data from YouGov and TeacherTapp indicated that teachers, students and parents throughout the South want less focus on cramming for exams.

According to this survey, 83 per cent of teachers throughout the South West think school is preparing children for exams, but 75 per cent wish exams were not the main focus.

Students also wanted to see a shift in how they learn, beyond the traditional classroom setting. Less than half of all children aged 11-18 across the region think school should prepare children or young people for passing exams.

This is compared with more than 70 per cent who think they should be learning how to manage money and be better communicators.

Jim Knight, the Lord Knight of Weymouth and former MP for South Dorset, said: "This report should be an urgent wake-up call to ministers and all of us in Parliament.

“We are living in a time where there is an urgent need for change in how we educate our societies - we can see this in the climate of division, the fear about job opportunities, the scale of the problems we face, from climate change to democracy, and the increase in mental health crises.

“But this is also a time of great opportunity - employers, politicians, young people and parents are desperate for solutions to address these things. Reimagining education is the answer to the questions all parts of society are facing.”