New ‘V-level’ qualification to expand post-16 study routes

The government will introduce a new vocational qualification for pupils leaving school at 16 as part of its plans to simplify the post-GCSE education system. 

News of the V-level, which will sit alongside A-levels and T-levels to create a third route for students in England aged 16 to 19, was set out in a white paper published today (20 October). 

According to education secretary Bridget Philipson, vocational education had been “an afterthought for too long” and that the new system would “turn the tide”. 

The Department for Education (DfE) said the V-level would replace around 900 existing vocational qualifications in a move designed to simplify what it called the “confusing landscape” of post-16 study. Pupils will be able to take the qualification alongside A-levels, unlike T-levels, which are equivalent to three A-levels.

Students will benefit from more flexibility to explore sectors such as engineering, agriculture and digital technology by taking the V-level, before choosing where to specialise, according to the DfE. 

The government will also consult on plans for the introduction of the qualification, while T-levels will continue to expand into other subjects.

Separately, ministers announced a new qualification aimed at helping students who have not achieved a grade 4 in GCSE English or maths. The course will act as a “stepping stone” to help learners prepare to resit those exams.

The DfE said the measure was expected to particularly support white working-class pupils, who are more likely to need to resit English and maths than their more affluent peers.

Phillipson said: “Technical and vocational education is the backbone of this country’s economy and central to breaking the link between background and success, helping hundreds of thousands of young people get the skills they need to get good jobs.

“But for too long it has been an afterthought. Young people have been left to navigate an overcomplicated landscape and repeatedly labelled as ‘failures’ by a system that has held them back from all-important English and maths grades… we are turning the tide.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the creation of a third vocational pathway, saying it was vital that post-16 students had “a choice of pathways which suit the interests and aspirations of different learners”.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, described the announcement as “a significant step forward” for vocational education.