Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a British Baccalaureate which offers a mix of (1) academic, and (2) vocational, qualifications at age 18.

Since 2010, the government’s reforms have made a lasting improvement to the rigour of qualifications, ensuring they reflect the knowledge and skills pupils need to progress. With further reforms currently in train, the department has no plans to introduce a Baccalaureate-style system at age 18.

GCSEs were reformed from 2013 to ensure they rigorously assess the knowledge acquired by pupils during key stage 4. They are in line with the expected standards in high-performing jurisdictions. Around half of students change institution at age 16. GCSEs therefore provide an important reflection of academic attainment, giving students recognised and respected qualifications, and supporting a smooth transition between institutions.

With the benefit of a broad education pre-16, students can then specialise post-16. The academic and technical pathways the department has developed serve different purposes, but they are rigorous and enable students to progress to the next stage of their education or employment.

The academic pathway includes our gold standard A levels. We have worked with higher education (HE) providers to reform A levels to ensure they are as robust as possible and support progression to HE.

The technical pathway includes T levels, which have been designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours they need to secure employment in a range of occupations or to progress to higher technical education. Our ten new T levels, including digital, construction, and health and science, are now being taught. Over twenty T Levels will be available by 2023.

In addition, our high-quality apprenticeships provide young people with the opportunity to earn while learning the skills needed to start an exciting career in a wide range of industries. There are currently over 640 employer-designed apprenticeship standards available at all levels, ensuring a wide variety of options for young people. We are also promoting front-loaded and accelerated apprenticeships to ensure apprentices can hit the ground running, and to support progression from other skills programmes, including T levels.

The department is also streamlining and improving the quality of all post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below. The changes we are making will give students a clear route map to the high-quality technical and academic pathways available, which they can trust to lead to rewarding careers.

The department is confident that recent and upcoming reforms have and will provide students with a range of rigorous and evidence-informed academic and technical qualifications, and that our qualifications system supports all students to achieve their full potential.