An Ofsted  study reports that teachers are discouraging students who want to leave school and work as apprentices  in beauty salons  or hair dressers. Inspectors questioned 105 young people for a report on apprenticeships published on Wednesday. They found several examples of young people who felt they had been laughed at by their teachers for wanting to progress to work-based learning, particularly in care or hairdressing, rather than stay on at school. Right or wrong, is it any surprise that this is happening? From 2014,the government will measure schools according to the rate of their pupils who go to university. Brian Lightman , general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, says the government has already put teachers under "very great pressure to focus on academic subjects" On the other hand, the Education Act 2011,which came into force in November, places schools under a duty to give fair career advice to pupils. This advice must include information on all post-16 education and training choices, including apprenticeships. This doesn't appear to be happening in several schools, according to Ofsted9S report. Many of the young people the inspectors talked to said the advice they had received on apprenticeships was "unsatisfactory". Schools were also blamed for lack of work experience courses, which are particularly important for teenagers considering an apprenticeship. _ help students decide whether they enjoy a line of work and enable employers to see whether those on work experience have the potential to be hired as apprentices in future years. But there is a good reason why they can't do this: they'd be unable to adapt to GCSE  exams if they did. Sometimes, it seems, schools just can't win. Pressure for schools to provide pupils with career advice comes from   _  .
Association of School and College Leaders Education Act 2011 GCSE exams OFSTED