As a result students at Rushcliffe School, Arnold Hill Academy and Farnborough Academy are teaming up with local businesses to gain skills that could lead to jobs in the future.

Mr Crompton said: "Since I began teaching in 1982 there's been decades of intensive change in schools, yet for some reason we are still teaching the same subjects, pupils are still asking 'Why do we have to do this? What's the point?' and employers are still complaining that pupils lack the skills they need."

"More and more people are passing exams yet the content is rarely used. Pupils ask 'why are we doing longshore drift sir? Why are we studying Pythagoras' Theorem? Will I ever use it? The answer in most cases is no. Employability is right at the heart of why people send their children to school. But the world of work bears little resemblance to what's going on in schools."

"What's to say we shouldn't be teaching GCSEs in resilience or team-working, A Levels in running your own business, or a BA in getting on with people?".

Mr Crompton is determined to tackle the problem head on and is getting every faculty pairing up with different local businesses.

He said: "Unlike more traditional business link-ups, which can feel like a tag on activity and extra workload for teachers, these projects are integrating with the curriculum."

The results so far have seen pupils involved in unconventional learning activities, such as taking orders in Spanish at a tapas bar, making mobile phone apps, creating landscaping plans for eco houses and designing bags for life.

The Tapastry tapas bar in Heathcoat Street, Nottingham, holds Spanish cultural evening and A Level students chat to customers in Spanish while serving food. Here are the thoughts of the people involded in the project:

Student Lucy Jepson, 17, from Rushcliffe School said: "The best thing about the experience was being able to speak in Spanish." "It was great to be plunged into the culture of Spain. We learnt a lot about Spanish traditions which I knew nothing about before. It was also good for learning how to think on the spot and work under pressure."

Ellen Morgan prefers learning the language on the spot. The 17-year-old said: "Speaking Spanish in school is very structured but this way anything can happen. I would definitely recommend the experience to other students."

The school's head of modern foreign languages Eva Vicente said the experience is designed to take students out of their comfort zone. She said: "The link with Tapastry has allowed students to use their language skills in a real situation." "In addition, gaining first-hand experience about the actual running and organisation of a restaurant and working tirelessly for a whole evening has put to the test the students' levels of resilience and adaptability."

Restaurant owner Matt Longfoot was happy to get involved in the project: "It's great to have the students on board to communicate with the customers. I'm really impressed with them."

As seen in www.nottinghampost.com