V-levels

Baroness Barran Excerpts

Monday 23rd February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The only thing about which I disagree with my noble friend is that that is not the only mess left by the previous Government that we have had to clear up.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

Perhaps I might build on the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, about T-levels. My experience of talking to pupils who are studying T-levels is that they are almost universally incredibly enthusiastic about them, but if one goes to a school that does not deliver T-levels one finds that no one has heard of them, so the communication problem still exists for T-levels—as it will do for V-levels. I wonder whether the Minister could say what the Government are doing to address that.

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

We have seen a considerable increase in the awareness of T-levels. It is also the case that we want to ensure—through reforms that we will have more to say about in the near future—that T-levels are both accessible to more students and scalable for more students to be able to take advantage of them. In doing that, we are talking not only to colleges where T-levels are going very successfully but to sixth-form colleges and school sixth forms.