HC Deb 13 November 1996 vol 285 cc345-6
8. Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment she has made of the impact of GNVQs on educational standards. [2077]

Mr. Paice

GNVQs are having a remarkable impact on the motivation of young people of all abilities, and we are now building on their early success.

Mr. Lidington

I invite my hon. Friend to visit Buckinghamshire to see for himself that the introduction of GNVQs in schools in my constituency has increased student motivation and students' levels of achievement. Does he agree that the increasing success of GNVQs should be a source of pride for the students and teachers directly concerned, for Buckinghamshire local education authority, which has strongly supported the introduction of GNVQs, and for the Government, who introduced the qualification in the first place?

Mr. Paice

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the invitation, and I shall accept it if I possibly can.

I agree with my hon. Friend on GNVQs. Anyone who has been to schools and spoken to students of different ages who are undertaking a GNVQ can only be excited about the motivation of those students. Many of them admit to having been turned off by the more formal approach to education, and are finding that the approach adopted in the GNVQ process gives them an exciting chance to continue learning. That is what it is all about, and why the Government are proud of the development of GNVQs, which have enabled many young people to continue learning who might otherwise have been discouraged from gaining further qualifications. That is the objective of all of us.

Mr. Bryan Davies

The reforms of GNVQs are welcome and long overdue, but is it not clear that the Government's promotion of grammar schools and small sixth forms in grant-maintained schools run counter to the development of vocational education? It widens the gap between academic and vocational education at just the time when we should be seeking to bridge that gap.

Mr. Paice

That is a non sequitur. The whole purpose of establishing a range of different schools, each specialising in a different approach, is to enable young people and their parents to choose what is best for their personal needs. I know of many schools with very high academic achievements, which have always produced good A-level results and which have gone out and grasped GNVQs, seeing them as a sensible and, indeed, essential system to run alongside A-levels. Nothing in the Bill or the Government's proposals would in any way reduce young people's opportunity to choose the qualifications that are most appropriate to their needs.