Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

1. What steps she is taking to ensure the provision of adequate funding for pupils to study the International Baccalaureate.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)]

Funded institutions for those aged 16 to 19 have the freedom to decide how to use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the international baccalaureate.

[Alison Bennett]

Varndean sixth-form college in Brighton is the only state-funded IB provider in Sussex. It has warned that, without the large programme uplift, the IB will become financially unviable. Many Mid Sussex students have gone on from Varndean to study engineering, medicine and maths at leading universities. Does the Minister think it right that this world-class qualification becomes available only in the private sector, entrenching a two-tier education system? Will he meet me and Varndean students to discuss the benefits of the IB for state-educated pupils and why this decision must be reversed?

[Josh MacAlister]

The Government made big decisions at the spending review to increase the overall funding available to 16-to-19 courses. Next financial year, there will be an increase of over £800 million. That means that per-pupil funding is going up substantially. The large programme uplift sits on top of that, and the Government have made the decision to prioritise the large programme uplift for students doing multiple A-levels in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects. We still support the international baccalaureate and recognise it as a programme that can work for many students.