AS-level exams should be scrapped as they squeeze out extra-curricular subjects, fail to provide a broad knowledge, reduce teaching time and devalue the lower sixth year.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff made the claims saying the only good thing the supplementary exams did was allow universities to make better grade predictions and firm up offers to students.

"The rest is all bad, and the bad significantly outweighs the good," he said.

He referred to his daughter, who wanted to read English at university, and was advised not to take a science, but drama studies to show her commitment to it.

"The way to broaden education is through the old A-level curriculum, insisting that students study within those subjects a broad range of other subjects to give them a fuller understanding of the texts," he said.

He said AS-levels reduced the fun of the sixth form and killed the extra-curricular activities.

"Pupils at my daughter's and son's schools are opting out of the Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme and do not want to take part in Young Enterprise," he said.

"Those things, which sixth form is all about, are withering on the vine and dying."

And he said AS-lelvels were squeezing the life, the breath and fun out of sixth form education.

"Sixth form is not six terms but five, because the last is spent revising and taking exams," he said.

"We are turning students into people who just cram academic subjects - there is too little teaching and students are losing the fun and joy that should be the sixth form experience."