HUNDREDS of thousands of teenagers will study new practical alternatives to A-levels as part of Government reforms designed to prepare more pupils for jobs in traditional trades, it was announced today.

A new range of ‘Tech Level’ qualifications will be offered at schools and colleges.

They come under plans to give students a grounding of subjects such as engineering, construction, maufacturing, IT and agriculture, it emerged.

New courses will also be staged in disciplines including motorcycle maintenance and patisserie baking.

The move comes after the Coalition axed more than nine-in-10 existing vocational courses from official league tables because of concerns that they were substandard.