By Gary Eason BBC News Online education editor

More than 5% of those reaching the national school exam target in England this year did so by taking a work-related qualification meant for older students, new figures show.

More and more students are taking GNVQs as well as GCSEs

A greater emphasis on vocational schooling means the number of 15 year olds achieving an intermediate GNVQ ahead of their years has been rocketing recently.

At the same time the qualification's popularity among its intended market - those aged 16 and over - has been in steep decline.

There has also been a doubling each year in the proportion of youngsters who took GNVQs but who also got at least five good GCSE results.

Experts think this suggests the GNVQ has become in part a sort of "insurance policy" for schools seeking to meet government targets.

The education department says it is keen for pupils to be offered "a wide ranging and flexible curriculum" relevant to their needs.

Measure

According to the qualifications watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), intermediate GNVQs are "aimed mainly at 16 to 19 year olds" in further education colleges and schools with sixth forms.

GENERAL NATIONAL VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (GNVQs) Full Course - Taken in six units - Foundation level worth four GCSEs grades D-G - Intermediate level worth four GCSEs grades A*-C - "Aimed mainly at 16 to 19 year olds" Part One (now discontinued) - Taken in three units - Foundation level worth two GCSEs grades D-G - Intermediate level worth two GCSEs grades A*-C - "Aimed at pupils of compulsory school age"

Asked whether younger students should be doing them, a QCA spokesman said: "Teachers are best placed to judge which of these qualifications are the most appropriate to the needs and aptitudes of their students, whatever their age."

Each full intermediate GNVQ in a single subject is rated by the QCA as being equivalent to four GCSEs in different subjects at grades A* to C.

The standard measure in the government's achievement targets is five or more grades A* to C or the vocational equivalent.

This year, the proportion of youngsters reaching that standard nationally rose to 52.6% from 51.6% in 2002, according to the provisional official figures.

BBC News Online revealed recently that the pass rate in GCSEs alone, which is not normally published, actually fell - for the first time since their introduction in 1988 - from 50.2% to 49.7%.

Ups and downs

Now, new figures spell out the achievement routes of those who took GNVQs.

AGE 15 OR 16? Exam results are reported for "15 year olds" - age at start of school year Ministers set targets for "16 year olds" - age at end of year

In 2001, 105,555 people aged 16 or over (up to retirement age) were listed as working towards an intermediate GNVQ - more than twice the level of the previous few years.

The figure then fell away to 92,438 in 2002 and 72,329 this year.

But the number of 15-year-old students achieving an intermediate GNVQ has risen 30-fold since 1996 - from 2,418 to 72,680 - or 11.7% of the age group.

A total of 58,329 achieved "five or more grades A* to C" having taken both GNVQs and GCSEs.

Of those, 5.4% did so with the help of a GNVQ. This was up from 2.7% last year and 1.2% the year before.

The figures also reveal a doubling in each year recently of those who took a vocational qualification, but who got five or more good GCSEs anyway.

A total of 40,747 achieved that this year - 12.4% of those who did both GCSEs and GNVQs.

Some 268,972 students took only GCSEs and achieved five or more A* to C grades this year - 82.2% of those making the standard.

This proportion has been declining steadily since the arrival of GNVQs in the mid-90s.

Trend

The statistics, not usually published in this form, were revealed in a Commons written answer to a question from Tory MP Nick Gibb.

GNVQ SUBJECTS Art and Design Business Construction and the Built Environment Engineering Health and Social Care Hospitality and Catering Information and Communication Technology Land and Environment Leisure and Tourism Manufacturing Media, Communication and Production Performing Arts Retail and Distributive Services Science

They have been analysed by Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Liverpool, who takes a close interest in GCSE trends.

He believes the growth of the GNVQ is related to the government's target for the proportion of youngsters meeting its "five or more A* to C" benchmark - a target it is failing to hit.

He says the figures suggest that initially, the GNVQ - particularly in information and communication technology - was seen as an alternative to GCSEs but increasingly seems to be a sort of "insurance policy".

"If schools are adopting the course on the basis of its intrinsic merits, that's fine, but there has to be a suspicion that this is the distorting effect of the schools' striving to meet the targets," he said.

He wonders whether the GNVQ meets the original intention of the "five or more" target - as an appropriate outcome for secondary education of English, maths, science and a couple of other subjects.

The education watchdog, Ofsted, has also expressed concern on this score.

'Arbitrary equivalence'

Professor David Jesson of the University of York is about to investigate the use of GNVQs for the Specialist Schools Trust.

He said the striking feature of the new figures was that GNVQs accounted for only 5.4% of the total - and that so many who took GNVQs met the GCSEs benchmark without them.

He agreed with the "belt and braces" thesis.

"It's offering a wider curriculum choice on the basis that you can ensure you get something coming through if all else fails."

Having visited schools that were using GNVQs, he said he was impressed at the quality of work youngsters were doing.

But he also doubts the validity of equating them to four higher-grade GCSEs.

He said he was at the meeting in 1991 which drew up the equivalences, and it was an arbitrary decision - "think of a number and double it".

"I don't know of that being backed up by any research evidence of any kind," he said.

This was unfortunate. "Some people are accused of going for them because they offer a lot."

'Legitimately counted'

A spokesperson for the Department for Education and Skills said it made no apology for a greater take-up of vocational qualifications among young people, provided they were relevant to them.

"We want to encourage schools to offer pupils a wide ranging and flexible curriculum," a spokesperson said.

"The GNVQ is a recognised qualification. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has established that the six-unit GNVQs are deemed to be the equivalent of four GCSEs.

"These achievements are therefore legitimately counted for pre-16 students in the school performance tables."