THE growing range of courses available at GCSE is evidence, say the examination boards, that the system is reflecting the varied interests of students.

Youngsters are pursuing courses that fit their talents and in which they will succeed, helping to raise overall levels of achievement. Critics, however, see a drift away from traditional disciplines towards less rigorous subjects that make schools look good in league tables but do little to promote academic excellence. Entries for languages, science and geography are in decline, those for PE, religious education and citizenship are booming.

New Applied GCSEs in subjects such as journalism, hospitality or “learning for life and work” are considered twice as valuable as a pass in English or mathematics. The most popular vocational course, an intermediate GNVQ in information and communication technology, taken by nearly 58,000 students, is rated equal to four GCSEs at grade C or better. This is a boon for schools determined to raise their score in the proportion of students gaining five good GCSEs or equivalent, the all-important indicator in league tables.

Professor Alan Smithers, of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said that vocational courses at 16 “confer little or no job advantage”. He said: “It looks as though schools are increasingly juggling with pupils’ entries to maximise their score in the league tables.”

Ministers have woken up to this trend and plan to change the tables so that schools are required to include English and mathematics in the proportion of students with five good passes. Only about 40 per cent of teenagers gain at least a C in both subjects now, so the impact on the ranking of many schools will be profound. The continued failure of hundreds of thousands of students to gain good passes in English and mathematics after 11 years of compulsory schooling underscored employers’ concerns about a lack of focus on the basics.

This year 39 per cent failed to get at least a C grade in English and 47 per cent in mathematics. Despite repeated studies showing a worrying level of obesity among the young, GCSE PE is this year’s fastest-growing subject, up by 10,000 entries, or 7.5 per cent, to 144,194. More than twice as many students now take PE than GCSEs in biology, physics or chemistry. A similar number sit the GCSE in religious studies, up by 4.6 per cent. Since it is compulsory to study both subjects, many students have decided that they may as well get a qualification in them.

Formally, the obligation to study a foreign language at GCSE ended only last September. But the Government turned a blind eye as schools took advantage of the flexible rules allowing them to make languages optional a year early. The results have been devastating, with French down by 46,000, or 14.4 per cent, compared with 2004 while entries for German have fallen by nearly 17,000 or 13.7 per cent. Amid the gloom on languages, there was an encouraging rise in entries for biology, chemistry and physics. The rise of 7,500 was combined with an extra 15,000 sitting single award science, which includes elements of all three subjects.

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