Department for Education and Skills (DfES) sources have indicated that the Government's forthcoming policy white paper on the matter, due next month, will backtrack on Tomlinson's proposals by promising to retain A-levels.
The move is understood to be a pre-election attempt to appease voters who hail the qualification as a "gold standard".
The plan is likely to disappoint Tomlinson and his supporters, who fear it could downgrade the importance Tomlinson places on vocational choices to engage a wider range of young people and an enhanced role for extracurricular activities.
Phil Willis, education spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said: "We're worried we're going to get a new wrapper around the same old chocolate bar. But Tomlinson envisaged that we would not only get a new wrapper, but that the whole thing inside would be exciting and new as well."
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