Asked by: Baroness Rebuck (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the requirement for all learners who did not achieve a Level 2 in English and maths by the age of 16 to continue to study those subjects post-16 since its introduction.
Answered by Lord Nash
We publish analysis on English and maths attainment by students aged 16 to 18 who did not achieve A* to C by the end of key stage 4 in an annual experimental Statistical First Release. The latest release (relating to 2013/14) is attached and also available online. [1]
The next publication will provide data relating to 2014/15, the first year of the English and maths requirement.
The English and maths requirement has had a positive effect on attainment. In 2015, for 17-year-olds and over, entries in maths were up 30% while English entries rose by 23%. Last year there were over 4,000 more passes in English by students aged 17 and over and over 7,500 more maths passes.
We also monitor in-year management information returns from further education institutions. In 2014/15, 97% of 16 to 19-year-olds without GCSE A*-C English and/or maths attending an FE institution continued their study of these subjects.