SFCA responds to government decisions in level 3 'rapid review'

Responding to today’s announcement, Bill Watkin, Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said:

“Today’s announcement brings some good news for students, the education sector and employers. We are pleased that the Protect Student Choice campaign’s recommendation not to introduce constraints on combining different types and sizes of qualification will be implemented. There was a welcome acknowledgement in today’s ministerial statement that colleges and schools are best placed to decide the combination of qualifications that should be included in a student’s study programme.

“We are also pleased that 13 of the 21 applied general qualifications (AGQs) that the campaign identified as being essential to retain will be retained. That means students will continue to benefit from BTECs and other qualifications in key subjects such as Applied Science, Health and Social Care, IT, and Engineering. Although these 13 AGQs (accounting for 58,000 16 to 18 enrolments) are only being retained for a further year, we understand that many have a long-term future alongside A levels and T levels.

“More broadly, there is now a clear recognition from ministers that A levels and T levels cannot be the only Level 3 options available to young people. More work is needed to ensure the applied route is not only retained, but also treated with the same respect as A levels and T levels, and we must move away from referring to these qualifications as “alternatives”. Today has brought a degree of certainty to the Level 3 reform process, and we look forward to working with the government on the implementation of the plans set out today”.

Notes

1. The outcome of the government's review of Level 3 qualifications can be found here.
2. The Protect Student Campaign campaign published three recommendations for the review in October. The campaign is a coalition of 28 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.
3. The government reviewed 465 Level 3 qualifications, of which 38 were applied general qualifications (AGQs) such as BTECs. There are 80,000 16 to 18 enrolments on the 21 priority AGQs identified by the campaign. 58,000 enrolments are on AGQs that were approved today and 22,000 are on AGQs that will be defunded as planned next year. 

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