There are indications that laboratory skills are being lost as practical science lessons are being squeezed out by exam pressures on schools, says a science advisory body.

The Council for Science and Technology is writing to the United Kingdom’s education secretary to warn about the loss of such laboratory experiments.

The advisory body wants experiments to be protected in a shake-up of GCSEs and A-levels in England.

The council says that without practical lessons, science is “like studying literature without reading books”.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said, “The Council for Science and Technology rightly notes that our reforms ‘will give teachers space and freedom’ to conduct more experiments and practicals.”

The council, which provides strategic advice to the prime minister, says that cramming for exams is restricting the opportunities for practical learning.

This focus on grades is “pushing inspiring practical work into the margins as teachers concentrate on preparing for examinations”.

The council’s letter to Education Secretary, Michael Gove, says that rather than being an optional extra, such practical experiments are the “essence of science and should be at the heart of science learning”.

The changes to GCSEs and A-levels, including removing the modular structure of examinations, should be used as an opportunity for more practical experiments, says the council.

Rather than “repetitive preparation for tests”, the council says teachers should be able to “devise innovative and challenging practically based science curricula for their students, including more independent, project-based work”.

Accompanying the letter is a report which argues that there has been a “steady erosion” of laboratory skills in school science over the past 20 years.

Prof. Jim Iley, executive director of education and science at the Royal Society of Chemistry, said, “We cannot stress strongly enough the importance of developing practical skills in the lab.”