Pounds 17 million pledged to help students write

Ministers have pledged Pounds 17 million to help schools and colleges prepare for the introduction of the new advanced level Key Skills qualification. The money, which comes in addition to the Pounds 19 million already earmarked to help schools introduce the full reformed 16-19 curriculum, will be spread over three years, and focused on the provision of guidance and support materials for teachers and lecturers. Announcing the cash, education minister Baroness Blackstone said that the Key Skills exam, to be taken alongside A levels, would "help university students meet the requirements of written work". The development work will be steered by the Further Education Development Agency.