If you up school leaving age, you have to reform the Curriculum - Took

9.23.17pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 13th Jan 2007

Commenting on recent reports that the school leaving age is to rise to 18, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Ashford, Chris Took said:

"This is a potentially important reform voiced by the education secretary. My fear though is that upping the leaving age in isolation will not achieve much. Ministers need to address the reasons why young people decide against continuing education in the first place."

Chris has direct experience of how 'education until 18' works abroad having attended Northwest High School in the United States for his final year of A-Levels.

"In the US most students have an opportunity to choose what they want to do. In the UK a final year of A-Levels involves the stress of exams, coursework and the like. Whilst of course I did sit exams in the US my curriculum also included choir, journalism and tennis."

Liberal Democrats nationally propose a radical overhaul of the UK schooling system. They want to scrap GCSEs and A-Levels and in their place introduce a modern British diploma system that allows teenagers to mix vocational courses, sport and training with academic learning.