Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce a third route for level 3 qualifications.

Through our Plan for Change, the government is building a skills system that will drive forward opportunity and deliver the growth that our economy needs. Students deserve high quality qualifications, and we must continue to develop and improve qualifications, so that they provide for the needs of students and employers. Qualifications are being reformed so that they are better quality and deliver improved outcomes.

The outcomes from the Review of Post-16 Qualifications Reform were published in December 2024. The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its interim report earlier this year and aims to ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all learners aged 16-19. The Review will publish their final recommendations in autumn 2025.

The Review’s interim report said that they were interested in developing a third pathway at level 3 alongside A levels and T Levels and noted the absence of 'vocational' options in the reformed system. The department is working with the Review panel on the approach to qualifications at levels 2 and 3 and will set out further detail shortly.