“T Levels are rigorous technical qualifications which will offer the ideal pathway for many students, but they will not be the right choice for all learners. Applied General Qualifications serve a distinct and different purpose to T Levels and play an important role in promoting social mobility by widening access to, and participation in, higher education and skilled employment”.

This is the conclusion from the Education Select Committee’s 17-month inquiry into the future of post-16 qualifications which considered how well the government’s current post-16 reforms prepare young people for the world of work.

Whilst the Committee welcomed the aspiration for T Levels to be rigorous and ambitious technical qualifications, the report strongly recommended that Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) should only be withdrawn “as and when there is robust evidence that T Levels are demonstrably more effective in preparing students for progression, meeting industry needs and promoting social mobility”, recommending a moratorium on the de-funding of AGQs.

Following 121 written submissions including one from OCR, and seven oral evidence sessions, the Education Select Committee inquiry report expressed concerns that T Levels do not yet offer accessibility either geographically or for lower attaining students, that Transition Programme progression rates are low, that employer interest in providing industry placements is in decline, and that progression options from T Levels remain questionable.

Whilst the inquiry report welcomed the DfE’s ambition to simplify the post-16 landscape by tackling qualifications at Level 3 and below with low or no enrolments, the vast majority of evidence expressed concern about the impacts of withdrawing funding for AGQs.  Given the Committee’s concern about accessibility to T Levels, it believes that some post-16 students will be at risk of having neither a T Level option nor an AGQ option in future.

The inquiry report also recommended that the DfE sets out how it will address the long-term decline in apprenticeship starts among young people, and reverse its decision to withdraw funding from the International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme.

The Education Select Committee inquiry welcomed the government’s proposals for all young people to study some form of maths to age 18, but recognised the challenges of delivering this pledge, not least the recruitment and retention of maths teachers, and the importance of building a stronger foundation of numeracy and maths at GCSE and below.

The inquiry, originally started by the former Education Select Committee Chair and now DfE Skills Minister Robert Halfon, awaits the government response.