National Gcse Results

Employers call for 'enterprise curriculum'

Mr Smith, who previously held a senior position at Oracle, said employers had no right to “moan” unless they “can show they are involved in turning it around”.

Education Secretary Michael Gove wants the education system to move away from an “obsession” with tests and targets, which could be leading to students taking “soft courses” to raise schools’ positions in league tables.

Pupils will be expected to score A* to C grades in the five core GCSE subjects of English, mathematics, science, languages and humanities.

Sir James Dyson, the vacuum cleaner entrepreneur, also warned that an emphasis on core academic subjects could be to the detriment of practical skills: “Britain has 37,000 engineering vacancies but produces just 22,000 engineering graduates each year. Young people should be encouraged into practical subjects like design and technology, which is at risk of being taken off the national curriculum – if we want a generation of problem-solvers this is a mistake.”

Young Enterprise is pledging to organise 10,000 volunteer days with participating employers dedicated to enterprise education as part of the campaign. It also wants 500 schools, colleges and universities to commit to “employer engagement” to provide students with business skills in the 2011/12 school year. The “Young Enterprise Charter” will be presented to Government in October.

Mr Smith’s calls coincide with the publication of a report commissioned by Rod Aldridge, the Capita founder, which found teachers were not equipped with the knowledge to teach enterprise, despite widespread support for teaching business skills.

The survey of more than 1,000 primary and secondary school teachers found that while 90pc agreed that entrepreneurship should form part of the national curriculum only 30pc said they knew how to teach it.

Seven in ten respondents said business and enterprise skills should form part of their formal teacher training, while 80pc said pupils who were taught entrepreneurial skills were better prepared for working life.

Mr Aldridge contributed £2m to the £46m costs of establishing the Darwen Academy in Blackburn in 2008. He said the independent school’s “entrepreneurship curriculum” had helped it to become one of the most improved in the UK, with the number of students securing five or more A-C grades at GCSE last year more than doubling compared to the year the school was taken out of local government control.

GCSE Results Party (Under 18s)

This month is all about results for anyone who has just taken their GCSE’s. But regardless of how they went, it’s all over now so you’ll be needing somewhere to let off some steam. There is only one GCSE club night in Cambridge this month and that is being thrown by the city’s number 1 U18 events team, Swagger! Expect hundreds of new friends, heaps of giveaways, floor-filling tunes and loads more!

Swagger Results Party, Thursday 25 August. The Place, 22 Sidney Street.

T: 07545820221

W: www.wegotswagger.fatsoma.

The Academies Programme

The Complete Guide to Becoming an English Teacher

Young participation in higher education

Improving Poorly Performing Schools in England, Department for Education and Skills

Key maths GCSE, statistics. Teacher support pack