Outdated A-levels should be axed, says head

Leading schools are ditching "outdated" A-levels in favour of continental- style diplomas, a leading headteacher warned today.

The traditional "gold standard" exams were suitable 50 years ago but no longer give teenagers the range of life skills they need, said Melvyn Roffe, incoming chairman of the Boarding Schools Association.

He criticised ministers for making a string of "half-baked" changes to A-levels in the past decade and suggested the exams should be phased out to maintain Britain's reputation for high standards. He told the Evening Standard: "I wish the Government would say 'A-levels were great 50 years ago', rather than saying 'we have to keep to the gold standard' ". A high quality, widely recognised qualification must be available for all sixth formers. "Whether it has to be called A-level - I have no particular reason for thinking it should," said Mr Roffe, principal of Wymondham College in Norfolk. "We have had a series of changes, many of which have been fairly half-baked."

The "Curriculum 2000" reforms, which saw A-levels divided into modules, was a good idea but ministers lacked "the courage to take it to its logical extent, which was to have a proper baccalaureate".

"It is no surprise that a lot of schools are going with the International Baccalaureate," he said. "We need to find a way of validating the other things which are important in school leavers - the sense of community service, having a skill which might be musical, dramatic or sporting.

"At the moment this doesn't fit particularly-well with the A-level structure but it does fit well with the baccalaureate. A lot of boarding schools are looking at the IB and quite a few are doing the IB.

"We are certainly looking at various types of baccalaureate, as many schools are at the moment." New baccalaureatestylecourses are being developed by exam boards and include the Cambridge Pre-U, which will be taught in 50 schools from next month. Mr Roffe said the Government's new diplomas, combining work experience with theory, could also be "a part" of the solution.

The IB is now available at more than 100 independent and state schools. Pupils study six subjects, which must include a foreign language, a science, a humanity and maths. They also take a course in critical thinking and complete a 4,000-word extended essay.

Mr Roffe's warning over the future of A-levels came as experts predicted another record crop of results when teenagers get their grades on Thursday.

Professor Alan Smithers, from Buckingham University, said he expected the overall pass rate to "inch up" again this year to just above 97 per cent, while the proportion of pupils awarded As could rise to about 26 per cent. Sixth-formers starting A-levels next month will be the first to aim for a new A* "super grade" in 2010. The new grade is intended to help universities choose the top candidates because As are now so common.

But several universities are set to reject the A* because it could see more private school pupils winning places as they achieve better results, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Geoff Lucas, from the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference of 250 elite independent schools, condemned the "lily-livered" tactic.