A-LEVELS are becoming increasingly devalued and the British education system is too focused on vocational training rather than learning, according to the new headmaster of an Oxfordshire public school.

With the A-Level system in turmoil following suspected political pressure to downgrade papers over the summer, the comments of Damian Ettinger, the newly-appointed headteacher of £3,350 per-term Cokethorpe School, near Witney, make uncomfortable reading for examination chiefs and pupils alike.

Mr Ettinger believes children's education is being damaged by the lack of continuity in the exam system, inconsistent marking of exam papers, and a stream of bogus new initiatives.

"The morale among teachers is very low," he said.

"What has been seen as a gold standard has been devalued, that's why top schools are looking at the International Baccalaureate because that's a standard like the A-Level of old. "If someone says I have three A-Levels from 1992 then you'd say 'There's a bright lad,' but if they were from 2001 you wouldn't know what it meant."

The increasing emphasis on vocational qualifications as early as GCSE level is denying children a more rounded education to equip them for their entire lives rather than just their careers, he went on to say.

"What worries me as a head is that we should not be obsessed about training people up for employment," he said.

"Education is not currently being seen as a liberal education to better one's self, it's about what job you can get at the end of it.

"Children are being pushed to specialise too early. I discourage pupils from doing law degrees. They should do the classics at university then a conversion course."

Officials at the Department of Education and Skills have admitted that confidence in the A-Level system has been lost.

An independent inquiry into the A-Level fiasco, by the former chief inspector of schools, Mike Tomlinson, has blamed incidents of downgrading on the complexity of the new two-part A-Level structure.

The second part of the inquiry, about to be published, is expected to recommend ways to restore A-Levels' reputation.