THANK goodness that “hundreds of worthless qualifications” (Echo, May 10), introduced by the last government, are to be axed.

Our children have enough problems to face in a time of cost- cutting, without being driven down the path of useless and dead end qualifications, purely to make education figures look good.

The proposal to put the money into work-based tuition, including apprenticeships, is indeed welcome news.

We need to do all we can to improve the chances of the younger generations.

Giving them appropriate qualifications for their academic and vocational needs is a start.

It serves no purpose to encourage everyone to study for the dumbed-down qualifications that the Labour party favoured.

We need GCSEs that demonstrate knowledge and understanding and vocational qualifications that test aptitude and ability.

That way, employers can make informed choices on future employees and know that they have a solid grounding in useful, not politically correct, subjects.

Dave Brothers, UKIP County Durham.