Reforms focus on vocational education

Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, has announced plans to focus on vocational education in the government's White Paper on Education and Skills for 14 to 19-year-olds.

The main proposal includes the introduction of 14 specialised diplomas to replace the 3,500 vocational qualifications currently available. The diplomas would combine both vocational and academic content, as well as study in the basics of Maths and English.

The reforms also include plans to introduce a new general GCSE diploma to pupils who achieve five A* - C GCSEs, including English and Maths. Pupils will also have to master the traditional '3 R's', to ensure that no-one will be able to achieve high grades in Maths or English without first mastering the basics.

Mrs Kelly said that improving the basics of education would provide young people with the skills necessary to effectively study the rest of the curriculum. She said:" We have a lot to be proud of in our education system. It educates the vast majority of young people very well. We have seen continued rising standards in primary and secondary schools - in fact standards have never been higher. But we are not complacent - there is more to do. I want every teenager educated to the very limit of their ability. That means ensuring that we have an education system that tackles the historic weakness in the system; so that every single teenager, not just the vast majority, get the education they need and deserve to get on in life."

The Education Secretary said that the new proposals would "mark the end of the divide" between vocational and academic study. She said: "We can't have second class, second best vocational education - it is valued abroad and it must be valued here. We must have a truly world-class workforce. It is vital to the future prosperity of the country."

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the new reforms and said: "For far too long vocational education has been desperately undervalued. We have to turn that around and in the process open up new routes to learning for all those our system has been failing. If we can make that difference new generations of learners and our economy will both derive immense benefit."

The White Paper has been published in response to the Tomlinson review of education for 14 to 19-year-olds.

The government has faced criticism from the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and the Association of Colleges, saying that the reforms do not reflect the recommendations made in the Tomlinson review.

(KMcA/SP)