As Malta undertakes a major review of the Matsec examinations, at both ordinary and advanced levels, England has been undergoing a similar process.

Here, Education Minister Louis Galea wants all school-leavers to be in possession of some kind of certification to show for all the years spent in compulsory education.

In England, the proposal is for new qualifications for all and tougher exams for the brightest, BBC Online reported recently.

"The time for reform has come. Too many young people leave learning or fail to progress. Too many are left unchallenged," Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools who is heading the review, was quoted as saying.

According to a report produced by his working party, A-levels, GCSEs and vocational qualifications should be replaced by diplomas, which in a way would be similar to the Matriculation Certificate obtained here by sixth formers. The certificate system is based on the Baccalaureate model under which studies cover both sciences and humanities.

The proposal in England is that core skills in maths and English would be mandatory, in response to employers' concerns.

There would be four levels of diplomas, and progression through the levels would be at the speed that suits pupils - ability-related learning rather than age-related - so brighter children could move upwards more quickly.

Indeed, learning at your own pace is a key feature of the proposed reforms. Programmes and diplomas would not in general be linked to specific age ranges. Students would even be able to leave education and return later with credit for what they had done before.

"Every teacher in the land knows young people do not progress at the same rate," said Mr Tomlinson. "Teaching by age could in time be replaced by teaching for stage, allowing students to progress at their own rate."

This would imply having mixed-age groups, which some educators see as perfectly possible.