ALL Bolton pupils will get the chance to leave school with qualifications if education chiefs get the Christmas presents they are hoping for.

Bolton expect to hear on Christmas Eve if their bids for two Government grants to allow all schools to offer work-based courses have been successful.

And if they get the money, the town hopes to be among the first in the country to offer every 14, 15 and 16 year-old the option of taking vocational qualifications suited to their abilities.

It is part of a long-term ambition to make sure the vast majority of all Bolton school leavers have at least one qualification to their name.

Education Adviser Brian Shaw said: "If we get this money Bolton will be in a unique situation. Not many authorities will be able to offer vocational qualifications in all schools."

Education chiefs have asked for £50,000 so they can sign a deal with Bolton College to run National Vocational Qualification courses (NVQs) for about a dozen less academic pupils from each secondary school in Bolton.

A local pilot study proved youngsters who cannot take traditional exams can be persuaded to go to college part-time to take less academic courses in work-related subjects such travel, catering and retail.

Now education chiefs face a nail-biting wait to see if they get the Government grant to take the scheme borough wide and help schools who say they cannot afford the expensive college-based NVQs.

But they are certain of getting a second grant of £150,000 which will allow all Bolton secondary schools to offer their own vocational GNVQ courses in time for the new millennium.

The money will be used to complete a three-year-programme to train enough teachers to offer GNVQs to 14 to 16-year-olds in all Bolton schools.

Mr Shaw said: "We want to set up a hierarchy of vocational qualifications to cater for all pupils, from the brightest to the struggling.

"It is about finding alternatives so we can offer courses to all children and reduce the number of pupils who leave school without any recognised qualifications."

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