UK students could miss out on a place at university because A-levels do not sufficiently prepare them for degree courses, British Education Secretary Michael Gove warned yesterday. Mr Gove said even the brightest students often lack the knowledge of foreign undergraduates, putting them at a disadvantage for selection to the top institutions and jobs.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Gove said he would give universities more input into A-level syllabuses and exam questions and declared war on “soft” A-level subjects.

“The latest international education league tables showed us slipping further and further behind, thanks to Labour’s neglect of standards,” he said.

“Colleges can no longer rely on the existing A-level to identify the best candidates so they have to set their own tests.

“And academics report that even the brightest of our students don’t have the level of knowledge which undergraduates form abroad can boast.

“We can’t afford to waste time while our students fall further behind on the race for the best university places and jobs.”

Mr Gove said the British government would be giving the exams watchdog Ofqual “new teeth” to fix higher exam standards that are measured against “the world’s most rigorous”.

The Education Secretary added: “We are asking universities to play a bigger part in designing A-levels so they don’t have to offer their own tests on top. And we are also reforming league tables so they focus on the exams universities and employers value, such as science, history and modern languages.

“Soft subjects will no longer have the same value.”