The government's overhaul of the A Level system has failed to deliver significant improvements for students, a report by the education watchdog has said.

The Ofsted report said that the new A and AS Level regime may at best have had "a marginal impact on the curriculum of individual students".

The chief inspector of schools, David Bell, said: "Despite the added burdens placed on schools, colleges and pupils, Curriculum 2000 has achieved much less than was intended."

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gwen Evans, joint acting general secretary, for ATL, told ePolitix.com: "David Bell's findings echo all too closely what teachers and students told ATL when it undertook its surveys "Work, work, work" and "Work, the sequel". Students are behaving highly rationally and playing very safe. They are opting for more of the same instead of making more risk-laden and adventurous choices.

"There is a remedy: word would soon get round if prestigious universities made lower offers to students whose programmes included contrasting subjects."Teachers have done an all too successful job in ensuring their students get high grades but at a heavy cost: teaching now has to be driven by the mark scheme.

"Gone are the days when post-16 study offered freedom and opportunities to follow individual interests.

"League tables may please the government but they do few favours to the students who achieve the grades but at the cost of deeper understanding.

"Educational battery farming mat achieve quantity but long-term quality is at risk."