A Manifesto For Modern Character: Navigating The Future With People, Planet And Purpose

The World Is Changing

Our education system is a museum piece. It is a Victorian-era exam factory designed to produce compliant workers for an industrial age which vanished long ago. For decades, we have tried to patch and update this creaking out-of-date machinery, bolting on new qualifications and fancy digital whiteboards, all while the fundamental design remains unchanged. We have been rearranging the deckchairs while the world outside has changed beyond recognition.

Now, the iceberg is there looming in front of us. Artificial Intelligence is not just another technological shift; it is a paradigm-annihilating force. It will automate, obliterate and redefine swathes of the knowledge economy for which we currently prepare our young people. Repetitive cognitive tasks, the very currency of our exam system, will be rendered worthless. In a world where AI can pass the bar exam, write flawless code, analyse data in seconds and predict the future, what is the value of an education system which relentlessly drills students to do the same, only slower and less accurately, and makes them feel bad in the process?

The answer is that its value is collapsing.

The crisis is here upon us. Clinging to our exam-factory model is no longer a viable option; it is an act of educational recklessness.

This moment of disruption, however, is also a moment of profound opportunity.

It forces us to readdress the fundamental question: “what is point of education?” With AI handling the ‘what’ of knowledge, our schools must pivot to the ‘who’ of the student. We must embark on a radical return to the historical purpose of education: the deliberate cultivation of human character. Not as a lame add-on or a Friday afternoon afterthought, but as the core, non-negotiable mission of every school, college and university.

The Thorny Path: Navigating The Politics And Pitfalls Of Character

This is not a call for a simplistic or naive return to the past. The path to a meaningful, modern character education is fraught with philosophical tripwires and political pitfalls, and we must navigate it with our eyes wide open.

The UK’s character education landscape is already a complex tapestry. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham has become the nation’s de facto centre for research, driving a neo-Aristotelian revival. Elsewhere, projects like the Narnian Virtues, based at the University of Leeds, draw on the works of C.S. Lewis to define virtues like wisdom, love, fortitude and justice.

This very diversity raises critical questions, echoing the philosopher John Rawls’ famous challenge: in a pluralistic society with competing ideas of the good life, whose virtues do we teach? Is a curriculum based on ‘knightly virtues’ truly relevant for every student in a diverse, multicultural classroom in Moss Side?

We must also critically examine who funds this movement. The significant financial backing of organisations like the US-based Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Kern Family Foundation, both of which are known for promoting particular ideological and religious values, requires transparency to ensure that a particular ideological agenda does not unduly influence a national educational strategy. Full financial transparency and the allaying of any concerns about potential conflicts of interest and bias are required.

Furthermore, character education has a history of becoming a political football. Successive governments have championed it as a cure for perceived moral decline, but initiatives have often fizzled out. When former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan advocated for a focus on character, it was often perceived as a nostalgic, top-down imposition rather than a genuine, school-led movement. For it to succeed, it cannot be another transient ministerial whim; it must be a systemic and lasting commitment.

The biggest challenge of all, however, is assessment. How do you measure character? The moment you try to assign a grade for ‘grit’ or a level for ‘integrity’, you risk creating a new, more undesirable system of labelling and gaming.

The answer is that you evidence it. And for that, we need new tools.

Technology As A Mirror: Making Character Visible

The exam-factory model of education had its corresponding technology: the pen-and-paper exam and the one-dimensional CV. A modern, character-led approach requires a technology that can capture the richness of human development and character. This is where digital portfolios become indispensable.

Tech tools represent the future of holistic student assessment. Instead of a static ‘set-in-stone’ list of grades, a digital portfolio becomes a living record of a student’s journey….a journey which continues beyond school. A digital platform is a space to capture evidence of the skills and virtues that employers and society desperately need. For example, a student can upload a video reflecting on how they overcame a challenge in a team project (resilience). They can document their work volunteering for a local environmental group (civic action). They can showcase a creative project that went through multiple iterations (perseverance and creativity).

This is technology used not as a grading machine, but as a mirror for the soul. It empowers students to see, articulate and, most importantly, take ownership of their own growth. At DISC College in Manchester, for example, it is being used to help SEND students build a rich portfolio of skills and experiences which showcases their unique abilities far beyond what a traditional qualification could achieve. Across the country, schools are using it to support initiatives like the ACE (Association for Character Education) Award, providing a platform to make the intangible tangible. By linking these portfolios to established frameworks like the Gatsby Benchmarks for careers guidance a powerful, unified language for character can be created which connects education directly to the world of work.

The Manchester Declaration: A Manifesto For A New Beginning

We stand at a crossroads. We can continue down the path towards obsolescence, or we can embark on a new route. This requires more than just tinkering and loitering; it requires a manifesto for change, a city-wide commitment to a new vision of education. Let’s call it ‘The Manchester Declaration on Character Education’.

This declaration would be a pact between the city’s schools, colleges, businesses and civic institutions. It would commit us to a future where:

1. Character is the Core: Every educational institution explicitly places character development at the heart of its mission, curriculum, and culture.
2. The Curriculum is Redefined for a Modern World: We move beyond a narrow focus on academic subjects to deliberately cultivate the virtues and thriving our people and planet need, such as: environmental stewardship (connecting to the UN SDGs), digital resilience, critical thinking, compassion and active citizenship.
3. We Move from Transmission to Transformation: We abandon a pedagogy of passive reception, where teachers transmit ‘correct’ answers, and embrace one that promotes genuine critical reflection, ethical debate and student-led action.
4. We Redefine “Success”: We create a city-wide accreditation, underpinned by digital portfolios, let’s call it the ‘Manchester Character Award’. This would become a recognised and valued kite mark of real-world readiness, sought after by local employers (and how it fits in with their ethos) and higher education institutions, signalling a young person’s holistic growth, way beyond just their exam results.
5. Manchester Leads the Way: A city-wide pilot at schools can be used to develop a model and offer it as a blueprint for the UK and the world, proving that a post-AI education system founded on human flourishing is not just a utopian dream, but a practical reality.

“If New York is the city that never sleeps then Manchester is the city that won’t sit still.”  From David Scott’s Mancunians

The decline of focus on character is not inevitable. It is the result of a system which has forgotten its purpose. The rise of AI is the strong smell from the coffee machine telling us we must change course. Manchester, the city which delivered the first industrial revolution, can be the city that leads the revolution in education which will define the future. Let us build a system which honours our past, confronts our future and, above all, cherishes the enduring power of the human spirit.

By Neil Wolstenholme, Kloodle Chairman