Power skills, not just test scores
By Olly Tress, Founder Oliver Bonas
“I began my education at a very early age, in fact, right after I left college.” Winston Churchill
We are living through a period of dramatic and accelerating change. Artificial intelligence, global interconnectivity, and rapid technological disruption are transforming the employment landscape, the economy, and the way we live.
And yet, the UK education system, like much of the developed world, remains stubbornly rooted in the past, tied to a Victorian-era model that prizes rote learning, standardised testing, and conformity over creativity.
This outdated approach is not just inefficient. It’s actively holding our children back.
A personal perspective: Why this matters to me
As a neurodiverse father of three, this issue isn’t theoretical, it’s deeply personal.
We all know of children who thrive in the current system, scoring highly in exams and navigating academic structures with ease. But we also know of children, equally talented in different ways, who find the system demoralising. They feel belittled by a model that highlights their weaknesses instead of recognising their strengths.
Like so many parents, I want my children to feel seen, valued, and empowered by their education, not reduced to a grade.
I managed to navigate my way through “O” levels, “A” levels and a degree but my hope is for a system that uncovers and develops the full range of my children’s abilities, not just their capacity to perform in exams.
A new model: Gen evolve education
That’s why I am excited by Gen Evolve Education, a new initiative reimagining what school can and should be. Its mission is to put whole-child development at the centre of learning.
Gen Evolve’s innovative, personalised curriculum is designed not just to teach, but to unlock potential, building self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and purpose alongside academic achievement.
Rather than treating life skills as extras, Gen Evolve teaches them intentionally, including communication, decision-making, collaboration, dispute resolution, and self-management.
These are the foundations of resilience, leadership, and contribution. They are the very traits that will define success in a future shaped by AI, automation and global complexity.
What are power skills, and why do they matter so much now?
Historically labelled “soft skills”, I prefer to call them power skills, because that’s what they are.
These are the essential human abilities that underpin success in life and work: empathy, communication, adaptability, collaboration, resilience, and creativity.
They help us build strong relationships, handle setbacks, manage ourselves, and contribute meaningfully to the world around us.
In an age where machines are increasingly capable of analysis, prediction, and even creativity, it is humanness that becomes our superpower.
And yet, these skills are still marginalised in schools, if they are taught at all. Often, it’s assumed children will “pick them up” as they go.
But we wouldn’t dream of leaving literacy or numeracy to chance. Why should we treat the skills that shape emotional intelligence, social contribution, and personal fulfilment any differently?
What employers are saying: Power skills drive performance
Across industries, employers are saying the same thing: the world of work is changing, and we need to prepare young people for it.
In a 2023 World Economic Forum report, the most in-demand skills included critical thinking, emotional intelligence, leadership, resilience, and creativity. McKinsey’s Future of Work research places interpersonal and cognitive flexibility at the centre of employability in an AI-transformed economy.
And yet, our schools continue to focus on memorisation and exam technique, skills that, while useful, are not sufficient. In fact, as more cognitive tasks are taken on by machines, the uniquely human skills will become even more valuable.
If you’re an employer reading this, ask yourself: Would you value a candidate who had been taught how to give and receive feedback? Who could manage conflict, stay calm under pressure, and communicate clearly? These are not soft skills. These are hardwired to success.
Technology as the enabler, not the enemy
AI is often portrayed as a threat to learning, but it could be the very thing that unlocks a more human, more personalised form of education.
Intelligent systems can adapt lessons to a child’s pace and needs, identify learning gaps, and provide real-time feedback. For students who struggle with conventional teaching, AI offers the chance to progress in a way that suits them.
Research already shows that AI-powered tutoring systems can improve outcomes significantly, particularly for students who are underperforming in traditional models.
Far from replacing teachers, this technology can free them up to focus on what they do best: guiding, mentoring, and building the kinds of human skills machines cannot replicate.
We are at the dawn of an educational transformation, if we choose to embrace it.
Beyond employment: The fulfilment gap
Education is not just about producing workers. It’s about developing people.
Humans are social, creative, emotional beings. We want meaning, belonging, and purpose. Education should help us discover who we are and how we can contribute, not just how to pass exams.
Educationalist Guy Claxton put it best when he said:
“Traditional secondary education is an apprenticeship in the craft of scholarship and the identity of being an intellectual. Neither of these have anything to do with being real-world intelligent, nor with having a secure, satisfying and successful life.”
Children disengage not because they are lazy or distracted, but because the system rarely connects to their lives or aspirations. When they don’t feel seen or supported, they switch off emotionally or entirely. That’s not failure on their part. That’s a system that fails to nurture.
From factory to future: It’s time to evolve
Our current school model, age-based cohorts, rigid curricula, and standardised testing are relics of the industrial age.
It was never designed to develop whole people. It was designed to sort, rank and certify.
But we don’t live in that world anymore. We live in an age of AI, complexity, and unpredictability. And the skills that matter most, adaptability, empathy, creativity, resilienc,e are the very ones being pushed to the margins.
It’s time to bring them to the centre.
What if we got this right?
Let’s imagine a school system where every child’s unique strengths are recognised and developed. Where emotional wellbeing is taken as seriously as exam results. Where young people leave school not only literate and numerate, but confident, capable, and kind.
This isn’t a utopian fantasy. Models like Gen Evolve show it’s possible right now.
And the benefits wouldn’t just be personal. A population equipped with power skills would strengthen the economy, strengthen the social fabric and reduce mental health crises. The UK could see a multi-billion-pound boost by redesigning education not just as instruction, but as the empowerment of human potential.
To parents in Canada; Let’s start this conversation
If you’ve ever watched your child struggle with confidence, feel excluded by test-driven classrooms, or question their own intelligence because they don’t fit the mould, you are not alone.
There is another way. A way that sees your child, champions their individuality, and prepares them for the future they’re going to live in.
If this vision speaks to you, I invite you to register your interest at www.genevolve.org. Let’s come together to build an education system that does more than test our children, one that equips them to lead, to thrive and to flourish.