Pupils 'should grade each other's work'

Experts at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, who have devised the new secondary curriculum, said it will help children develop better study skills.

But education campaigners said the changes will lower standards of learning. Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, said:

"This is obviously designed to empower the child at the expense of the teacher. Young children simply haven't the knowledge or the experience to do this."

The guidelines from the Authority encourage teachers to let secondary school children set their own homework and choose what their tests should cover.

Classmates between 11 and 16 are also given the power to mark each other's work and grade their own efforts across all subjects.

The scheme is already used in some schools but is likely to become more widespread.

Although the new scheme would not be adopted for National Curriculum tests, such as GCSEs, teachers will be allowed to implement it during routine classroom testing.

The guidance said the approach had "fundamental implications for the learning ethos in a school" and should be adopted across all subjects, including English, maths and science.

A spokesman said: "This has been standard practice for years and provides a way for a child to get a good understanding of right and wrong answers."

But Mr Seaton added: "This is a move towards children-centred, trendy nonsense.

"Soon it will become policy. It is something that parents will surely be concerned about as it will only lead to lower standards."