Pupils take to `work' courses

All 14-year-olds should be able to study new work-related qualifications in school within two years, Gillian Shephard the Secretary of State for Education, announced yesterday.

She spoke as an inspectors' report showed that new qualifications in health and social care, business and manufacturing are motivating students.

Ministers hope the courses, which are being offered as an alternative to GCSE, will attract pupils bored by academic study. This year information technology, leisure and tourism and art and design have been added.Next year, engineering will come on stream.

The inspectors investigated 115 schools piloting the courses (part 1 GNVQs) for 5,500 14- and 15-year-olds and found that standards were highest in business and lowest in manufacturing. They said teachers needed to be brought up to date in manufacturing.

Ministers have begun to address the report's criticisms that the assessment is too cumbersome and complicated and that teachers do not understand how to mark the work. Students of all abilities were attracted to the courses, though there were proportionately fewer of the most and least able.

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said its survey showed teachers had a positive attitude to the qualification but a quarter of schools felt that it was under-funded.