AN East Yorkshire headteacher today tackled Education Secretary Estelle Morris over the controversial AS-Level examinations.

Jeff Bower, head teacher of Woldgate School, Pocklington, and three of his sixth-formers went on national radio to tell the Minister her proposals to ease the burden on students did not stretch far enough.

Under Curriculum 2000, introduced at the beginning of the school year, sixth formers were supposed to study four or five subjects to AS-Level, worth half an A-level, before narrowing down their choices and continuing three of those subjects to achieve A-Levels, or A2s as they are now known, in the second year.

But they have proved unpopular with teachers, who say they place an unfair load on sixth-formers.

Ms Morris proposed today that the AS exams should be "rationalised" to create a single test of up to three hours in place of large numbers of shorter exams in most subjects.

Early exams - particularly those held in January - will become the exception rather than the rule, and students will have the option of deferring the taking of the exams until the end of the second year of sixth form along with their A-levels.

But Mr Bower said: "The principle of broadening study at post-16 is excellent, but the devil's in the detail and what Estelle Morris is saying today wouldn't change the detail enough."

After his appearances on Radio Four's Today programme and on Radio Five Live, Mr Bower told the Evening Press the new system has been devastating to some.

He said: "If you're trying to achieve motivated independent learners with a breadth of knowledge in a broad range of subjects, it's having the opposite effect.

"Pupils are cramming for exams and becoming switched off and demotivated.

"We've got people who would have been A-grade students who are considering if they want to come back at all."

Ms Morris stressed the review had shown the worth of the original aims behind Curriculum 2000.

However, she conceded: "All new exams take time to bed in but the new AS has had more than its fair share of problems.

"I regret the extra stresses that have been put on students and their teachers - we now owe it to students to make the system work more effectively."

Mr Bower, who spoke alongside three of his Year-12 students, Rosie Williams, Claire Hunt and Louise Massie, said the proposals did not tackle the fundamental problems.

He said: "She's not taking into account the fact that there's too much to do. There will be the same volume of work but it will just be assessed differently.

"She is not tackling the fact that there are big differences between the standards of the different subjects.

"And there is nothing from the money point of view because as a method of organising a sixth form it is much more expensive because there are more classes with more teachers.

"It doesn't touch the fact that the workload for staff has also been colossal and will continue to be so."

Updated: 12:27 Wednesday, July 11, 2001