Short attention spans. Lack of motivation. Disinterest and apathy. These are the usual reproaches levelled at teenagers within the education system. But it is the job of the system to provide the 14-19s with the tools to succeed, as Mary Curnock Cook, Director of Qualifications and Skills at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), explained.

Only 50% of 16 year-olds are achieving the benchmark result of five GCSEs with grades A-C, with damaging consequences for their future employment, life choices and learning opportunities. "But that doesn't mean the other 50% are stupid," says Curnock Cook. "The real issue is that traditional education is not meeting their needs and motivating them to be at their best."

According to Curnock Cook, when teenagers make their GCSE choices, many may be effectively making a negative decision. The subjects are sorted into unwieldy groups, which makes it virtually impossible to make a decision based on aptitudes and interests. Therefore, because teenagers feel their choices are limited, there is a temptation to grab a random selection of subjects which they are then stuck with.

"What they should be offered is a rounded package which targets their own strengths and ambitions, be they academic or vocational," said Curnock Cook. She is big on vocation, having left school at 16 and worked her way up. She came to the QCA from the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), where she was Chief Executive. During her seven-year tenure from 1994 to 2001 the numbers of qualifications achieved in that field in the UK rose from 5,000 to 80,000 a year, and the BII's qualifications options were trimmed into a standardised portfolio that is of real value to employers.

"The Tomlinson report highlighted the need to strengthen the vocational offer to 14-19s," she said, referring to the report produced in November 2004 containing proposals to reform the 14-19 curriculum and qualifications. "We desperately need a link between the academic and the vocational - and for vocational learning to have the same kudos as the academic. If the mix is correct, both benefit." Everyone should emerge with a worthwhile qualification.

How to achieve this, especially in a system rooted in traditional values? "A composite diploma is very much on the cards," says Curnock Cook, enthusiasm shining through, "and will be piloted in 2008. We're entering partnership discussions now with both education policy-makers and business, in line with our remit from the Government." The goal is therefore to create a diploma with three cohesive paths - GCSEs and A-levels, vocational apprenticeships, and also - the area currently most noticeably absent - an in-between option which enables students to mix the two.

"Having to specialise in only two or three subject areas at A-level is not right for all students," she says. "My daughter is about to take her GCSEs and is planning to choose three sciences for A-level. It is a shame that this means she will stop studying art, literature and languages altogether." The A-level system is, she feels, not always the right choice for preparing young adults for a future which is more likely to be diverse and varied than narrow and specialised.

"It's also essential to develop the diploma in tandem with employers," she says, "as they can provide the input that makes the qualification relevant to learners and also teaches them life skills such as research and teamwork. Young people will be highly motivated by learning skills that they know employers want."

If defining the path is one side of the coin, then the other side must be to equip both teachers and students to work within the proposed new system and get the most out of it.

"I think that digital technology has a huge role to play," says Curnock Cook, adding that it would be unthinkable to devise a whole new strategy for qualifications for 14-19 year-olds without making use of modern technology. "We are not about reinventing the quill pen!"

A system for e-assessment is already at planning stage and Curnock Cook hopes that, by 2009, all new qualifications will have an option for on-screen assessment, and all awarding bodies will be set up to accept and assess e-portfolios. "Can you imagine the time it will save?" she asks. "On a single date in June, 620,000 students sit down each year to take their English GCSE. That means an army of invigilators and markers, literally millions of pieces of paper. instead, we have a vision of a day when students can log in with a PIN number and do their exam when they are ready - and potentially get an almost instant result. They could also take trial exams online, which would highlight weaknesses or else boost confidence and motivation if they do well. We could all avoid this draining peak of stress and make the process far more enjoyable for everyone involved."

E-learning also has vast implications for both students and teachers. "People say it's the thin end of the wedge, that you need a teacher in the classroom all the time," says Curnock Cook. "But the flip side is that the internet provides a virtually unlimited resource for teachers and students - far more than the biggest library you could conceive of. Technology can be used to make subjects come to life - for example, it is difficult to physically go on a field trip to see unusual rock strata on the other side of the world, but a video clip of the layers developing through history will do a lot more for students than a diagram in a text book."

As well as providing more varied and interesting resources, Mary makes the crucial point that teenagers are very digitally aware. "Technology is key to their environment, even to their sense of self and, when they come to school, it's as if they are being powered down," she says. "No wonder they lose interest."

Even in terms of monitoring students, technology has a role to play. "I'm amazed when I go to my daughter's open evenings and see teachers thumbing through mark books with ticks and crosses on," she says. "If results were recorded electronically, it would save hours of admin time. It would be far easier to analyse progress too - and mobile phones could be used to text reminders to students and for verbal assessments using voice recognition technology. I hope one day all teachers will embrace the possibilities."

Mary Curnock Cook is passionate about education, and passionate about expanding young people's choices. She is convinced that her vision will become reality. Welcome to the future of education.


Links

Futurelab literature review - '14-19 and Digital Technologies: A review of research and projects': www.futurelab.org.uk/research/lit_reviews.htm
Futurelab conference - '14-19: Transitions, Technology and Learning' - outcomes: www.futurelab.org.uk/events/past/14_19.htm