Coursework at GCSE is axed to stop Net cheats

Instead of writing up coursework at home, pupils will complete projects in class under the supervision of teachers.

The change, which will affect more than 600,000 schoolchildren, will see coursework scrapped in nine of the most academic subjects, including maths, English literature, history and geography, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority revealed.

Exam papers will also be made more demanding, after complaints that predictable' and narrow' questions allowed pupils to question-spot' and prepare answers beforehand.

The shake-up follows last year's damning report, which revealed the coursework system was open to widespread abuse. It found many pupils

were cutting and pasting answers from the Internet, asking their parents for help or using essay plans prepared by teachers.

But the Tories claimed yesterday that the clampdown does not go far enough, after it emerged pupils will still be able to research assignments on the Internet with low levels' of supervision.

They will also be allowed to have their notes alongside them when they write final reports under timed conditions in class.

David Willetts, the Shadow Education Secretary, said: It is largely a renaming exercise. Use of the Internet will still be permitted and work can take place without teacher supervision outside the classroom – it's just that it won't be called coursework.

The right way forward is not to rename coursework as the Government is doing. Instead, what is important is that work is properly monitored to ensure it reflects the student's own efforts.' However, the

QCA, which outlined the move, insisted the changes will ensure coursework is fair and reliable.

From September, maths coursework will be scrapped entirely, with all marks resting on written exams, while in most other subjects – including English literature, history and geography – it will be replaced by controlled assessments' from 2009. In practical subjects such as music, art and design technology, unsupervised coursework will still be allowed.

But assignments will be set by exam boards rather than teachers in order for standards to be checked easily.

Teachers will continue to mark their pupils' work, but final results will come under tighter scrutiny from exam board moderators.

In other changes, pupils taking GCSE history will have to spend at least a quarter of their time making a substantial and coherent' study of British history. It follows concerns that pupils are ignorant of great swathes of the country's past, including the Empire and its legacy.

The shake-up is an attempt by QCA bosses to restore the credibility of the 20-year-old qualification. Many leading private schools have already switched to the so- called International GCSE in subjects such as maths and science.

In a report last year, the QCA admitted that GCSE coursework was not fulfilling its stated purpose' and was even encouraging pupils to cheat and plagiarise.

Dr Ken Boston, the QCA's chief executive, said the proposals to overhaul GCSEs would ensure pupils can be assessed reliably, consistently and fairly'.

He added: Controlled assessments will increase public confidence in the GCSE and allow the integration of new sources of data and information, including the internet, under supervision.

The ability of GCSE to stretch and challenge young people has been reinforced by the proposals that examinations must include extended writing and more varied question types.'