Ministers want to raise the profile of vocational study

A beauty therapy certificate would be equivalent to three GCSEs.

The idea - being piloted this autumn - is to broaden the credit given to vocational qualifications, such as the City & Guilds in those subjects.

But school inspectors at Ofsted have warned ministers these "equivalences" could bring the performance tables into disrepute in the public mind.

Concerns have been raised already about the way intermediate GNVQs are given the same weight as four top-grade GCSEs.

Support and risks

A consultation exercise on the issue by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) was prompted by education ministers' commitments in their green paper on 14 to 19 learning, to count as many as possible of the qualifications taken by 16 year olds in the secondary school performance tables.

"The consultation strongly supported these proposals," said the QCA.

But it also identified possible risks.

These included a fear that schools and colleges would again focus on the "performance outcomes" of their institutions rather than students" learning needs and achievement, and the implication of a relative value between qualifications.

But the consensus was that the benefits outweighed the risks, it said.

The most significant impact in the short term was likely to come from a change of scale for GCSE/GNVQ attainment.

'Disruption'

In particular the current points system, with an A* grade worth eight times a G grade, would change so that an A* was only 3.6 times a G. So four of the lowest grades would be better than one top grade.

"Disruption is greatest for middle attaining schools," the QCA said.

Capping - limiting the number of GCSEs that would be counted for any student - "will cause significant disruption to schools' average point scores".

The QCA "strongly advises" that the current standard measure of attainment - five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C or their GNVQ equivalent - should instead be called "the level 2 threshold".

This is "a volume of qualifications equivalent to five GCSEs".

It lists qualifications and the percentage of the total they would merit.

So for example a CIEH certificate in food hygiene would be 5%, a single GCSE would be 20%, City & Guilds certificates in beauty therapy or salon reception: 60%, a BTec first diploma in horse care: 80% and C&G progression awards in bakery, car servicing or horticulture: 100%.

The new system is going to be piloted in this year's performance tables, due out in January 2004.

'Good standing'

The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) had thought its response to the consultation was private. But word of its concern got out.

"We believe much would need to be done to convince the general public that this was a proper equivalence," it said.

Some courses "may well risk the public good standing of performance tables more generally".

A spokesperson declined to comment beyond saying: "Whilst initiatives to broaden the curriculum are welcomed, attention has to be paid to the public perception."

'Good thing'

The Department for Education and Skills said vocational qualifications were "a good thing" - giving pupils the opportunity to study for a qualification that interested them and was relevant to their needs and aspirations.

"Learning in new and different ways is positive. We have to move away from a one-size-fits all type of examination system - in terms of content and style of assessment," a spokesperson said.

"As part of its monitoring of qualifications, QCA considers the quality of awards made in this qualification. If in the light of this it becomes clear that the quality of awards is deficient in any way, appropriate action will be taken to rectify the situation."

Well-known personalities who are advocates of City & Guilds qualifications include chefs Gary Rhodes and Jamie Oliver, hair stylist Charles Worthington and gardener Alan Titchmarsh.

Earlier this week BBC News Online revealed that this year's A* to C grade GCSE results - headlined as showing a small rise - actually fell.

The overall total was lifted by greater uptake of vocational qualifications, in particular intermediate GNVQs.

Scottish change

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has said it will bring in a National Qualifications grade D award for Advanced Higher, Higher, Intermediate 2 and Intermediate 1 courses.

The award would be granted to candidates who narrowly failed to achieve a C pass and replace the system whereby such pupils got a compensatory grade A at the level below.