The English education system is in danger of creating an "unforgiving exam system", according to the president of the Girls' Schools Association (GSA).

Speaking to delegates at the GSA annual conference, Alice Philips said that her younger self would be "written off" by current demands, which she argues offers little by way of second chances, "no wriggle room or place to make amends".

She explained that she feels "outrage" because presently she has to "play the system" to ensure that her students are able to fulfil their ambitions.

"The decoupling of the AS from the A Level is likely to erode the breadth of subjects young people study," Ms Philips continued.

"Over time it will drop from four to three, undoing one of the real strengths of Curriculum 2000. And as universities increasingly make their unconditional offers at A Level, they will therefore be forced to refer back to GCSEs as the best indicators of a student’s degree potential."

Add to this the new GCSE scale that has been introduced and the weight of expectation that is being placed on young people is set to increase substantially, without there being any merit.

For example, the educator said that many students will naturally aspire to achieve a GCSE 10. Is this, she asked, "What we really want, in their first public examination?"

Ms Philips was keen to say that her comments are not to be misconstrued – she believes, for example, that "rigour is good" and that pupils tend to thrive when they are required to study subjects in-depth.

"But it seems that the need for accountability and PISA perfection has driven the Department for Education and other quangos to create an assessment structure akin to 'rigour on speed'," she expanded.

"What are we doing? It seems that if it can be graded and put on a scale, compared, averaged, manipulated and mangled, it must be both good and useful. The General Certificate of Secondary Education should be what its full name suggests: an indication of roadworthiness across a range of subjects."