"There's going to be a live pilot over two terms in schools of a programme that will transform the IT curriculum away from computer literacy, which we believe many young people can do earlier, towards instead how they develop software and computational principles; how they can create their own programmes.

"I want to see the ability to create software, to write programmes, that is one of the key functional skills for the 21st century, and young people going through school, college and university should have the opportunity to generate those skills," Willetts said, according to the Press Association.

BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, welcomed the new initiative, which is being supported by employers including IBM, Capgemini, Cisco, HP, Logica, Microsoft, National Grid, SAS, Steria, TATA, John Lewis, the Metropolitan Police Service and the BBC.

However, it added: "We also need government to give clear signals to schools that computing is important by allowing it as an option within the National Curriculum. If not, then league table pressures will mean school heads won't believe this is a subject they need to support."

Judy Baker, director of the Cyber Security Challenge, also supported the Behind the Screen project.