'Dead End' Courses Expelled From School Rankings

The number of vocational qualifications that will count towards a school's GCSE performance in league tables - such as fish husbandry, worth two GCSEs - is being cut from 3,000 to just 70.

The move is part of an attempt by the Government to stop schools encouraging youngsters to take qualifications that boost their league table position but do not help a pupil's prospects.

Ministers have confirmed that just 125 vocational qualifications will be included from 2014.

Of these, only 70 will count towards the main performance measure - the percentage of pupils getting at least five Cs at GCSE, including English and maths.

The other 55 will count in the tables, but will not contribute towards the main measure.

Professor Alison Wolf, who wrote the review of vocational education, told Sky News: "The important thing about the list, I really feel, is not what is not on it but what is on it.

"What we have got there is a list of 100 and something qualifications that are clearly valuable, clearly stretching and allow progression where if a young person does them as part of their course of study, they can be confident that when they go for a job or go to appy for the next level of education people will be able to look at that and say 'that's a really good qualification'."

Plans to slash the numbers of "equivalent" qualifications were first announced by ministers last year.

Under the current system, 3,175 vocational or "equivalent" courses count in the league tables, and some of these are multiple GCSEs.

For example, a level 2 BTEC in horse care, one of the qualifications to be cut from the new style tables, is worth four GCSEs at grade C or higher.

The new system will see every qualification count equally in the tables.

Among the others that will not be included in the future are the Level 1 certificate in practical office skills (worth two GCSEs), the BTEC level 2 extended certificate in fish husbandry (worth two GCSEs) and the level 2 certificate in nail technology services (worth two GCSEs).

Qualifications that will still count include many of the diplomas introduced by the last government and a number of BTECs and OCR Nationals covering areas such as performing arts, sport, health and social care, media, music and engineering.

Some of the courses which will count in the tables are still subject to further review because they are either too new, or still have to demonstrate they have all the characteristics needed to be included, the Department for Education said.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "The weaknesses in our current system were laid bare by Professor Wolf's incisive and far-reaching review.

"The changes we are making will take time but will transform the lives of young people.

"For too long the system has been devalued by attempts to pretend that all qualifications are intrinsically the same. Young people have taken courses that have led nowhere."

Qualifications that do not meet the set standards can still be offered by schools but will not count in the league tables.