The European Union is concerned about the economic prospects of its member states as they have to compete against newly emerging economies with lower wages and high ambitions. Part of the strategy to deal with this economic shadow is to create a knowledge economy, but in order to achieve this, a shift to a competence-based curriculum model is seen as critical. Since the Lisbon strategy in 2000, policy documents have provided guidelines and tools for member states, but progress has been limited and in several states curriculum reforms which favoured competences have been reversed. This article uses interview data from school students from two projects in England focused on enquiry and learning competence, and analysis which draws on the theories of Bernstein, to illustrate their accounts of the difference between traditional and competence-based models. The data demonstrate the tensions caused by pupils' perceptions of the demands of summative assessment systems, which reflect a very different epistemology from experiential/competence models. The authors conclude that greater pedagogical literacy, attention to professional development, assessment reform and engaging students as partners in curriculum reform are needed.