* Courses for 16 to 19-year-olds in academic and vocational subjects are "narrow and shallow" compared with those in similar industrial economies, according to a comparative study from the think-tank Politeia.
It also said the drive to social inclusion threatened to destroy standards in elite universities.
Chris Woodhead, former chief inspector of schools and one of Politeia's education commissioners, said the government "does not appear to understand that if you dumb down the examination demands and the entrance requirements to elite universities in the interests of social inclusion, you destroy the good which you wanted the disadvantaged to have access to".