SCHOOL pupils in Waltham Forest will be able to take new diplomas from next September, it has been announced.

They will be among the first in the country to begin studying for the new qualifications, which the Government believes will combine academic and practical skills to give young people more opportunities.

Diplomas are two-year courses which combine core subjects, such as English, maths and computing, with vocational skills.

They can be taken alongside traditional qualifications such as GCSEs and A levels.

One diploma, creative and media, will be available at 21 Waltham Forest schools and colleges from next September.

By 2013 everybody in the UK will be able to choose from 14 diplomas.

The council's cabinet member for children, Chris Robbins, said that he was "excited" by the new courses.

He said: "This is a major opportunity for young people to widen their options, not only will this provide education in schools, but also in colleges and through work placements.

"The diplomas are not going to be second rate, they will be on a par with existing qualifications."

Cllr Robbins said that the diplomas were aimed at removing the division between those who want to work and those who want to study.

He said: "We are not in the position we were in the 1950s and 60s. There are no longer massive opportunies to do apprenticeships.

"This will give people work-based opportunites, getting them used to outside life, without them wanting to leave school."

Schools in Waltham Forest will be grouped together and have their timetables co-ordinated, so pupils will be able to travel from one place of learning to another if necessary.

Cllr Robbins said that most schools had responded enthusiastically.