'Boring science lessons put pupils off'

School science lessons are so boring and old-fashioned that a generation of pupils is being put off the subject, MPs claimed today.

An all-party committee claimed that coursework was "tedious and dull" while most practical experiments were "completely pointless". It said children should learn how science works, and discuss the latest advances and ethical issues, instead of filling their brains with facts.

The Commons Science and Technology Committee attacked the three main examining boards for coming up with boring GCSE syllabuses. It urged the Government to spend at least £120 million improving laboratories in secondary schools.

In its report the committee said: "What is important is not that citizens should be able to remember and recall solely a large body of scientific facts, but that they should understand how science works and how it is based on analysis and interpretation of evidence.

"Crucially, citizens should be able to use their understanding of science so that science can help rather than scare them." Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson, the committee's chairman, warned that children were spending too long repeating tedious experiments, and he stressed the need to encourage a new generation of young scientists.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills claimed English 15-year-olds performed well in international league tables of science knowledge, and said: "Over 110,000 of these have gone on to study a science subject at A-level this year."