Welsh Conservatives today pledged to overhaul the education system in Wales and give much more school control to teachers, parents and governors.

Shadow Minister for Education, Paul Davies AM, and Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly, Nick Bourne AM, have launched the Party's education policies at Cowbridge Comprehensive School in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Welsh Conservatives would:

• Fund schools directly from the Welsh Government
• Close the GCSE & A Level performance gaps with the rest of the UK by boosting standards and working with schools to improve and prioritise
• Promote enterprise and life skills in the national curriculum & require all secondary schools to set up a social enterprise managed and run by pupils

Mr Davies said: "These policies are entirely based on making our pupils and students world-beaters.

"Our children can achieve more if we inspire them, encourage them & give much more flexibility to the people that really matter.

"It is clear that the current system simply isn't working. We have fallen further behind the rest of the UK in both GCSE and A-Level performance.

"We need a fresh approach that seizes opportunities and gives our youngsters the best possible chance to achieve and succeed; not just during their school and college lives, but in their careers as well.

"By placing more focus upon enterprise and life skills in the national curriculum, we are encouraging new ways of thinking and promoting an entrepreneurial spirit that will also help our economy in the long-term."

Mr Bourne said: "Our pupils and students work incredibly hard and what we want to do is support that work in a much more efficient way. We want to give our youngsters the best possible start in life.

"By funding schools directly from the Welsh Government we would give teachers, parents and governors much more control over priorities. It is these people who work in our schools day-in, day-out, and it is these people who should have the greatest input in decision-making.

"This course of action would also increase Ministerial accountability for our education system and cut vast amounts of waste. Right now, £102 million is eaten up by bureaucracy in Local Education Authorities. That's 4% of the schools budget. This money would be much better spent on our pupils and students.

"Opportunities are being missed and we clearly need a new approach that gives our children the world-class schools they deserve."