Labour confirms it does not plan to pause de-funding for AGQs: SFCA response

Commenting on the Secretary of State’s response to the Protect Student Choice campaign's letter asking for a pause to the de-funding of AGQs, James Kewin, Deputy Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said:

“It is desperately disappointing that the Labour government has reneged on the commitment made in opposition to pause the defunding for Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) such as BTECs. It is impossible to square this decision with the secretary of state’s aspiration to support working class and disadvantaged students, as these are the young people that disproportionately study AGQs. It also puts schools and colleges in an impossibly difficult position, as under the plan confirmed today, they will not know what subjects and qualifications they can offer in September 2025 until December 2024 at the earliest.

“This could easily have been avoided by simply honouring the commitment made in opposition to pause defunding. The decision not to do so is bad for students, bad for social mobility and bad for the economy. Our immediate priority is now to minimise the negative impact this decision will have on tens of thousands of young people”. 

A full statement can be found here commenting on the ‘risible’ contents of the letter from the Secretary of State to the campaign. Analysis by the SFCA of publicly available data suggests that over half a million students currently study at least one qualification whose fate beyond 2025 or 2026 is unknown.

Notes:

1. The #ProtectStudentChoice campaign is a coalition of employer groups and organisations co-ordinated by the Sixth Form Colleges Association that represent students, staff and leaders in schools, colleges and universities. More information can be found on the campaign website here including:
   • This letter sent to then shadow secretary state for education Bridget Phillipson in June 2023 making the first request to ‘pause and review’ the scrapping of BTECs
   • This reply sent by Bridget Phillipson agreeing to that request.
2. For more information, please contact Noni Csogor.