Our nation needs vocational skills just as much as it needs academic skills

Estelle Morris

The sweeping changes will be part of plans designed to end what ministers call "snobbery and prejudice" against vocational education in schools.

Manufacturing, engineering, and leisure and tourism will be among the new vocational subjects at GCSE.

But Ms Morris also plans to "beef up" A-levels to stretch the cleverest pupils further than at present.

There will be no starred A-levels, despite support from many within the government, but there may be a tier of harder questions on exam papers.

'Switched off'

Teachers' unions are likely to demand assurances as to whether new staff will be available to cover the extra and more varied workload.

The government believes that many children have "switched off" from an academic route at the age of 14 but could still be persuaded to work towards a vocational qualification.

Ms Morris said vocational qualifications should be held in the same esteem as A-levels.

Estelle Morris thinks there is snobbery about education

"We should be a bit ashamed of the fact that our vocational qualifications are just not respected in the same way," she told BBC One's Breakfast with Frost.

"The consequence of that is that too many children leave school at 16.

"More important than that they don't reach their potential. They miss out. Their skills are not developed.

"At the end of the day, our nation needs vocational skills just as much as it needs academic skills."

Modern languages

Ms Morris said the new qualifications were being piloted this year and would be available from September.

"If you can offer a qualification in vocational subjects that is equivalent to qualification in academic subjects I think you might get rid of this historic failure to really value vocational subjects," she said.

Teachers' leaders have already attacked plans to downgrade the status of modern languages by making them optional.

But Ms Morris said the education system did not currently tackle modern foreign languages well and a shake-up was needed.

"Year after year we have got fewer students going on to A-levels and degree level so I would like to do something different about modern foreign languages."

Extra challenge

On "super A-levels" she said there was a need for the qualification to keep up with improving standards.

She said 20% of A-level grades were at A and there was a need to introduce an extra challenge for the highest-achieving students.

There was no truth in the suggestion that A-levels were getting easier, she added.

Blair backing

The new vocational qualifications will still be called GCSEs following fears that naming them "vocational GCSEs" would devalue them and reduce acceptance from business.

Ms Morris's plans were backed by Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said he wanted to get rid of the idea that certain students must leave school at 16.

Speaking from Senegal, on the final day of his diplomatic mission to Africa, Mr Blair said wanted education to be "far more tailored around the needs of the individual child".