Education Secretary Michael Gove says he aims eventually to rework the equivalent scores given to vocational courses, with some still be considered to be worth at least one GCSE.

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As part of the benchmark, vocational qualifications such as BTecs and NVQs, taken in Key Stage 4 by 14- to 16-year-olds, are given equivalent scores to GCSEs and included in the five GCSEs score.

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The difference was equivalent to the average variation in cognitive scores between children born at a normal gestational weight and those weighing less than 3.5 pounds, the researchers said.

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