The National Assembly said it has no plans at the moment to follow England and introduce voluntary tests in English, maths and science for 12 and 13-year-olds.

Westminster Education Secretary David Blunkett has announced new national tests and targets for secondary school pupils in England.

However, a spokeswoman for the National Assembly said while there were no official plans to introduce the tests in Wales, there was nothing to stop individual schools bringing them in independently.

In a speech to education leaders at the North of England Education Conference in Wigan, Mr Blunkett pointed to "growing evidence of the impact on standards of systematic teaching of thinking skills".

A project run by academics at King's College, University of London, has shown that pupils explicitly taught to use thinking skills performed substantially better in GCSE science exams.

'Wider challenges'

Mr Blunkett announced that professional development courses for teachers in England would be piloted later this year to enable them to put the techniques into practice.

Mr Blunkett stressed that the initiative was "not about some loosely defined or woolly approach to study skills".

"It is about the ability to analyse and make connections, to use knowledge effectively, to solve problems and to think creatively," he said.

"It is about developing mental strategies to take on both academic and wider challenges."