SFCA responds to Post-16 White Paper plans for 'V levels'

Commenting on the publication of proposals that will feature in the government’s Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper on Monday, Bill Watkin, Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said:

“Today’s proposals do not address the immediate and overwhelming concern among colleges and schools about the planned defunding of applied general qualifications (AGQs) such as BTECs from next year. The government’s plan for another revamp of the post-16 qualification system will not help the sector to plug the significant qualification gap that will open up in September when BTECs are scrapped, nor the resulting increase in the number of young people at risk of disengaging from education as a result. 

We continue to urge ministers to allow students to enrol on AGQs while the new suite of V Levels is in development, to avoid a damaging transition to the new qualification system. 

We welcome the government’s acknowledgement that a third qualification pathway should be maintained alongside A level and T levels. But what students need - and what the Protect Student Choice coalition has been campaigning for over the past four years - is a broad applied pathway of equal status, with qualifications of all sizes, to ensure that every young person can access a course that meets their needs. 

The proposed V levels appear to be limited to one size (equivalent to one A level).  That will not fill the gap left by the 97 AGQs, that are available in two and three A level equivalent sizes and which cover broad vocational areas, without being tied to “job standards”.  Applied general qualifications are studied by tens of thousands of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to fulfil their aspirations and ambitions. 

If V Levels are to fill the worrying gap that will be left by the removal of AGQs, they must be available in a range of sizes and be broad enough to meet the long-term needs of both young people and employers.

But the government’s immediate priority should be to ensure that colleges and schools can continue to enrol students on BTECs until the new V Levels are up and running.”

Notes

1. The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) is the established voice of dedicated sixth form education and the hub of a national network of sixth form providers.

2. Young people in England can currently choose between three types of Level 3 qualification at the age of 16: A levels, technical qualifications such as T levels, and applied general qualifications (AGQs) such as BTECs.

3. There are currently 277,380 students studying an AGQ and 2027 is the last year in which these qualifications will be funded. The Department for Education estimates that just 91,200 students will be studying a T level in 2027 - an estimate described by the National Audit Office as “optimistic”. 

4. The SFCA co-ordinates the Protect Student Choice campaign, a coalition of 28 employer groups and organisations representing students, staff and leaders in schools, colleges and universities. The campaign believes that AGQs should be retained, as for many young people, they provide a more effective route to higher education or skilled employment than studying A levels or T levels.  More information can be found on the campaign website here.

5. For more information, please contact Noni Csogor.