Pupils' school records to go online

LONDON (Reuters) - Pupils aged 14 to 19 are to have their school records permanently placed on an electronic database accessible to prospective employers.

The scheme, based on a Unique Learner Number (ULN), will be used in English schools from September for pupils taking diplomas.

The record will include personal details and exam results and will remain with the pupil for life.

More than 40 partners, including the Learning and Skills Council, the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions are involved in the project, called Managing Information Across Partners (MIAP).

"The Unique Learner Number, necessary to acquire a learner record for the diploma is a unique identifier that can be used by a learner for life," MIAP said on its Web site.

"It is a national number that is validated and is therefore deemed to be unique."

The aim is to expand the system to include other information and to allow details already available but scattered across many databases to be brought together, it said.

The pupil would have control over the record and would be able to restrict the information shared.

It is envisaged that the information could be transferred if the pupil changes school, goes to college or applies for work, MIAP said.