COURSEWORK would be abolished in almost all GCSE and A-level subjects under Tory plans to restore the culture of “high stakes” final exams.

Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, claimed last night that government reforms designed to restore confidence in so-called “continual assessment” had failed.

The rise of the internet has led to increasing problems of plagiarism and there have been accusations that teachers provide too much assistance to pupils.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Gove said the collapse in rigorous testing through exams was so serious it was now threatening Britain’s economic competitiveness.

He said: “We want to ensure our state-run exams are as testing as those in the world’s best-performing education systems, such as Singapore and Taiwan.

“Those countries are our economic competitors, so our children need to be educated at the same level. That means less emphasis on modules and coursework and more on proper, rigorous testing.”

Coursework first emerged as a big feature of school life with the introduction of GCSEs in the 1980s.

Eventually some courses got rid of exams altogether, with all marks coming from other methods of assessment.

The Conservatives would go further, with most GCSE and A-level grades becoming entirely dependent on final exams.

Gove also promised a Tory government would reform examination league tables – the latest set are to be published this week.

Under the current system, schools are ranked according to the percentage of their students who attain five GCSEs at grades A* to C.

The Conservatives believe this leads teachers to concentrate on a narrow middle group of students, neglecting both bright pupils and those struggling at the bottom.

Gove warned that pressure from league tables was also encouraging schools to push children towards so-called “Mickey Mouse” subjects.

A spokesman for Ed Balls, the schools secretary, said: “Coursework is only allowed where it is the most valid way of assessing subject specific skills, and where it can be robustly assessed. In some subjects, relevant skills cannot be best assessed simply through a written exam.”

Times Recommends

• The bright side of this winter rain
• Story behind the picture: Snow Leopard, 2008
• Times Charity Appeal: The Place2Be