As he marks the tenth anniversary of his promise to make “education, education, education” his priority in government, the Prime Minister will also tell teachers that it is their task to help youngsters to turn into rounded personalities.

He will say that the three Rs — reading, writing and arithmetic — remain as vital as ever to schoolchildren. But he will also say that schools should equip pupils with the “life skills” they need to go out into the world.

Mr Blair believes that pupils should have basic communication skills, including use of the internet and the ability to take part in debates.

His speech today may be dubbed the three Cs — cooking, communicating and culture — and it may upset traditionalists with its emphasis on non-academic learning.

He wants schools to have more debating societies and to give children the opportunities to watch plays and take part in them. Children should leave school able to cook a meal and handle domestic finances, including opening a bank account and filling in a tax form.

A government source said: “These are vital life skills, and schools must play their part in handing them on.”

Mr Blair’s speech coincides with the 30th anniversary of an address by James Callaghan, the former Labour prime minister, at Ruskin College in Oxford.

That speech was seen as paving the way for the introduction of the national curriculum. Mr Blair will not propose today that any of the life skills be added to the curriculum, but he will exhort schools to encourage their teaching.

His speech will pave the way for the introduction of the new vocational diploma for 14 to 19 year-olds, which Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, described last week as “the most radical educational development taking place probably anywhere in the world”.

The introduction of the diploma and the emphasis on the importance of “skills for life” and “learning for life” are a recognition of the importance of equipping children and young people with practical, hands-on skills.

The UK has nine million high-skilled jobs, but it is forecast that by 2020 it will need 14 million. Furthermore, of the

3.4 million unskilled jobs existing today, only 600,000 will be needed by 2020.

Mr Blair will also suggest today that he wants to double the number of proposed city academies from 200 to 400.

Academies, sponsored by commercial partners or outside organisations, were created originally as a flagship Blair policy to help to turn round underperforming schools in inner-city areas.

He is also expected to endorse the International Baccalaureate Diploma as an alternative to the discredited A level and promise funding to allow state schools to make the switch.

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