Schools adopt vocational courses

The number of vocational qualifications taken in UK schools has almost doubled in a year to 155,000, a report claims.

The report, for vocational pressure group Edge, also said the number of vocational qualifications had doubled between 2003 and 2007 to 3.25 million.

Edge said the popularity of such courses had led schools to offer them.

But schools still run only 4.75% of them, with private firms, colleges and employers offering the majority.

'Sitting in rows'

Edge said vocational qualifications were a "rapidly growing feature of the school curriculum, particularly among those students aged 14-16".

"School centres accounted for at least 155,000 vocationally-related qualifications achieved in 2006-07, nearly double the previous year," it added.

But only 40,000 of these were in the 14-16 age group.

Lead researcher David Hemsworth said schools tended to aim vocational qualifications towards the least able and most disaffected pupils.

"But there's no reason why they should be just for them," he said.

"Some pupils do not respond to sitting in rows in a classroom but they do respond to practical work.

"Some schools are starting to use them with more able students as well."

University entry

Mr Hemsworth cited one school in Milton Keynes which offered a qualification in logistics and transport to its most able students.

He stressed that vocational qualifications could be taken at any level.

His report said vocational qualifications were increasingly being recognised as university entry qualifications in the Ucas points system.

In England nearly 14% of 19-year-olds achieved qualifications equivalent to the benchmark five good GCSEs.

This was an increase of nearly two-thirds since 2004, the report said.

The report said more than half of vocational related qualifications were achieved by people under 25, and 27% by those aged 14 to 19.

Edge released its report to coincide with what it is calling VQ Day - a concept it created to celebrate the hard work of all vocational qualification students.

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