Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) retention and (b) pass rate is for 16 to 19 year olds studying three A level-equivalent (i) applied general and (ii) tech level qualifications.

The department does not publish retention and pass rate data for 16 to 19-year-olds for applied general and tech level qualifications equivalent in size to three A levels.

However, the department does publish data on pass rates and the proportion of students who are retained to the end of their ’core aim’ (or main learning aim) of their study programme at a school or college in the ’A level and other 16 to 18 results’ statistical release, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results/2022-23. The data covers students at the end of 16 to 18 study in the reporting year attending state-funded schools and colleges. This includes all applied general and tech level qualifications approved for reporting in school and college performance data in that year, irrespective of the size of the qualification. For retention, the data relates to qualifications where it is the student’s core aim. This means that if a student studied both applied general and tech level qualifications, the statistics only refer to the learning aim recognised as their core aim. For pass rates, data reflects their best result if students enter multiple applied general (or tech level) qualifications, but students that enter both applied general and tech level qualifications will report outcomes for both unless they are in the same subject. The most recent published data is for the cohort of students at the end of 16 to 18 study in 2022/23 and is available for pass rates, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e869e68e-85ab-4cf7-595d-08dd3479441b, and retention which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e09fafe6-b348-4839-5950-08dd3479441b.

Additionally, in 2024 the department included in the T Level Action Plan a retention rate for 16-year-olds starting a large vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) equivalent in size to three A levels in academic year 2021/22, which found that 80% of 16-year-olds were retained within two years of starting their large VTQ. This is based on all relevant aims, and not just each student's core aim. The T Level Action Plan is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66290c86b0ace32985a7e6d6/T_Level_action_plan_-_analytical_annex.pdf.