Gone are the days when pupils at schools were taught useless subjects that they’d never use in the real world. These days schools are moving with the times and embracing technology, and moving with the times. The NCFE, which used to be known as the National Council for Further Education, is to offer a GCSE qualification in the art of podcasting!

That’s right, pupils will be taught to record their own podcasts on computers, edit them, and upload them to sites such as iTunes for download to MP3 players.

This is the first time that a qualification of this sort has been offered in the UK, and will show students how to record and broadcast their works on the Internet. The new course is set to begin this year, in September.

The course is set to run at level 1, which offers GCSE grades D-G, and will demonstrate the art of planning, preparing and recording a podcast for broadcast or download to MP3 players.

David Grailey is the chief executive of NCFE:

Podcasting is fast becoming a part of everyday life - vicars are delivering sermons via podcasts, police departments are launching ‘crimewatch’ video podcasts and schools and colleges are recording lessons via podcasts. It’s therefore vital that we offer people both an understanding and the skills to utilise this technology.

With the popularity of MP3 players, iPods and MP3 downloads, it’s something that pupils should have the opportunity to learn at school; there is a great demand for the skill set.