A NORTH-EAST exams expert has called for more detailed discussion on A Levels before the Government introduces the next stage of its reforms.

The comments from Professor Robert Coe, director at the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University, follow new proposals by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, to replace A Level exams with an Advanced Baccalaureate.

He said: "Hundreds of millions of pounds spread across hundreds of initiatives have been invested in making changes to the examination systems.

"The efforts to improve have been massive, but the benefits have been modest at best. One has to ask if the money could have been better spent."

The government's shake-up of school examinations is the biggest for nearly 25 years.

Prof Coe added: "The result is that we constantly apply largely untested remedies that generally have little real impact.

"If it becomes evident that one approach has not worked we try another, but it may well be no better and the old approach is likely to be revived at some point in the future.

"In short, we do not learn from our mistakes."