The teaching of computer science in schools is to be radically overhauled because it leaves students "bored out of their minds", the Education Secretary will announce today.
Information and communications technology (ICT) lesson will be scrapped from September and replaced by compulsory lessons in computer science.
In a speech to the BETT educational technology trade fair, Michael Gove will say: "Imagine the dramatic change which could be possible in just a few years, once we remove the roadblock of the existing ICT curriculum.
"Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations using an MIT tool called Scratch .
"By 16, they could have an understanding of formal logic previously covered only in university courses and be writing their own Apps for smartphones."
From September, schools will be given the freedom to use cutting-edge teaching resources designed with input from leading employers and academics such as Microsoft, Google and Cambridge University.
The Government also wants to see universities and businesses create a new high-quality Computer Science GCSE and develop curriculums drawing on web-based content.
Teachers will then be allowed to choose a tailor-made curriculum suited to their school.
The announcement follows pressure from businesses critical of a shortage of computer-literate school-leavers. Ofsted has also criticised ICT teaching as patchy.
Stressing that ICT will remain compulsory at every stage of the curriculum, Mr Gove will warn that inadequate grounding in computing is damaging the UK's economic prospects.
He will say: "As the chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, recently lamented, we in England have allowed our education system to ignore our great heritage and we are paying the price for it.
"Our school system has not prepared children for this new world. Millions have left school over the past decade without even the basics they need for a decent job.
"And the current curriculum cannot prepare British students to work at the very forefront of technological change."
A consultation on the plans will be launched next week, and IBM and Microsoft are already working on a pilot GCSE curriculum.
Bill Mitchell of the British Computing Society said: "It is tremendous that Michael Gove is personally endorsing the importance of teaching computer science in schools."
But Prof Steve Furber, the chair of a Royal Society report on computing in schools , warned non-specialist teachers may find the changes confusing.
"We look forward to hearing more about how the government intends to support non-specialist teachers who make up the majority of the workforce in delivering an excellent ICT education without official guidance on lesson content," he added.
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