A new history exam in Britain has the backing of the Historical Association to "sex up" exams to make them more accessible for the less academic.

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has awarded a contract to develop a pilot exam that would link history to related vocational areas of learning such as national heritage, museums, galleries, historic sites, archaeology, tourism, archives and media, the Daily Telegraph Saturday.

"There is now a wide range of employment related to our national heritage," said Ken Boston, the chief executive for the QCA.

However, Alan Smithers, the director of the Center for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said practical, work-related courses are different from watered down courses.

"History introduces people to one of the ways we make sense of the world and sexing it up with inappropriate material, such as how the subject is portrayed in the media, risks throwing the baby out with the bath water," he said.