At Pearson, our view on education reform rests on a vital principle: connecting pathways for progression. Every qualification should purposefully connect to clear next steps in education or employment. Colleges play a crucial role in making this possible. They bring subjects to life, help young people discover their strengths and support them as their ambitions develop or plans change. As we consider changes to post-16 routes, including the introduction of V Levels, colleges’ experience of designing programmes, advising learners and supporting progression must help shape these qualifications from the outset. This is why collaboration matters. By bringing together Pearson’s expertise in qualification design and assessment with colleges’ understanding of learners, curriculum delivery and progression, we can help shape qualifications that work in practice, not just on paper. Help learners understand their choices New routes can widen choice, but learners first need to know they exist and understand what they offer. Findings from the Pearson School & College Report 2026 (PSCR) highlight a significant challenge in helping learners navigate their choices. An estimated 1.2 million students in England, from Year 8 through to college, do not feel ready to make choices about subjects, courses or next steps that will affect their future. Only 59% of secondary school students say they have enough information about the different paths available after school. Awareness of qualifications also varies considerably. Among Year 10 and 11 students, 93% are familiar with A Levels and apprenticeships, compared with 55% for T Levels and 36% for V Levels. That’s why young people need opportunities from age 14 to explore academic and vocational subjects, experience practical learning and understand the different pathways available after age 16. Giving them this breadth of experience can help them discover their interests, develop their strengths and make more informed choices about their next steps. A course description can only go so far. A learner may want to understand how they can combine a V Level with an A Level, how a Level 2 Foundation Certificate could help them progress to Level 3, or what studying a T Level would mean day to day. They need to understand not just what they will study, but the opportunities each choice could open up. College staff make those possibilities tangible. Tutors explain what students will learn. Careers teams connect interests with further study and work. Open evenings allow young people to see where they would study and ask questions of the people who would teach them. The PSCR also found that 81% of Year 9-11 and college students said these events influenced their choice of subject, course and next steps, while 97% of college students said their tutors had influenced those decisions. From September 2027, Fareham College, a designated Qualification Pioneer College and part of South Hampshire College Group, plans to introduce three new Career Pathways combining selected V Levels and A Levels. To raise awareness of these new qualifications among local schools, Joanne Allen-Kotze, Curriculum Development and Innovation Lead at the college group, explains: “Alongside our usual open events, careers fairs and school liaison work, we are offering additional information evenings for parents and young people in December and January, focused on our new Career Pathways. “We will also be running early taster sessions in the spring for anyone applying to our V Level and A Level programmes. Normally, welcome events happen after GCSEs in June or July, but because these qualifications are new, it’s vital that students feel confident and supported in their choices from an earlier stage.” As new pathways emerge, working with colleges helps us explain each new qualification clearly: what it asks of students, what they can achieve and how it fits with other options. Build on what learners have achieved A central test of the new qualifications system will be whether it maintains and improves the opportunities available to learners. Qualifications must prepare students for their intended next steps, whether that means progressing to university, further study or employment. Education reform should build on the strengths of the existing system, preserving the flexibility and progression opportunities that have helped learners move successfully into higher education and employment. Established vocational qualifications have enabled learners to specialise, combine academic and vocational study, and progress to higher education and employment. Reform should preserve these strengths, including opportunities for learners to pursue more substantial vocational study where this supports their ambitions. Colleges see these connections across whole study programmes. Illustrating how this works in practice, Allen-Kotze explains: “We aren’t designing combinations purely at random. Each of our study programmes is mapped directly to progression routes. For example, a student aiming to be an educational psychologist can combine A Level Psychology, A Level English Language, and V Level Education so that the subject areas naturally reinforce each other.” Combining academic and vocational study is already an established and successful route into higher education. Our research into university entrants in 2019/20 and 2020/21 found that students combining A Levels with BTEC Nationals had higher education continuation rates of 92.5%–94.3%, close to the 95.1%–96.5% recorded for A Level-only students. As V Levels are introduced, it is essential that the range of subjects available enables learners to continue accessing these successful progression pathways, with any gaps in provision identified and addressed. Assess the learning that matters Assessments should reflect what learners are being asked to learn. Written exams can assess knowledge and reasoning, while practical tasks, projects and authentic work-based activities can demonstrate how learners apply those skills in context. The first V Levels will include both timetabled and other forms of assessment, with scope for applied and practical tasks in both. Getting the balance right matters: assessment must be rigorous and manageable for colleges, without losing the distinctive strengths of vocational learning. Assessment should be rigorous, but it should also be fair. Unnecessary barriers can prevent learners from showing what they know and can do. A student shouldn’t fail a practical skills test simply because of overly complex reading demands or language clutter. The goal is to test what matters, fairly and clearly, while keeping standards high. Tutors bring a close understanding of how students develop their skills and how an assessment works across a full course. Pearson brings experience in large-scale academic assessment alongside vocational and occupational learning. Both perspectives are valuable in answering the same question: will this assessment give learners a fair opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills? Ben Brady, Director of Curriculum and Quality at Warrington and Vale Royal College, notes: “As a vocational college, many of our students are practically gifted but would struggle with traditional, exam-heavy delivery. Whether it’s a hair student being observed doing a cut or a bricklayer building a wall, practical demonstration is where they thrive. Our learners particularly benefit from coursework and practical assessments: heavily exam-based routes don’t suit them, but that doesn’t mean they are any less capable. It’s simply a different way of demonstrating competency.” Prepare for change together Colleges begin planning courses long before the first lesson, and successful reform depends on giving them the time, information and support to do this well. Introducing new pathways means developing curricula, preparing staff, understanding assessment requirements and building confidence among universities and employers. As new qualifications are introduced in phases, colleges need timely and reliable information about specifications, assessment arrangements, funding and progression opportunities. They also need the resources and professional development to deliver the new offer effectively. Clarity about when existing qualifications will be withdrawn, and the arrangements for learners affected by the transition, will be essential to avoid disruption or gaps in provision. Sustained collaboration between colleges and awarding organisations is central to making this work. Colleges understand their learners and the practical realities of delivery. Pearson can draw on that expertise in qualification development and provide the information, resources and support colleges need to prepare. “With T Levels, there was a great deal of consultation, and many of my colleagues were directly involved in developing them,” says Brady. “That level of consultation remains an essential part of shaping the new V Level offer too, ensuring colleges have a clear voice in qualification design.” Make every next step count For Every Future reflects our belief: young people can reach their ambitions in different ways. Some arrive at college with a clear plan. Others find their direction through learning. All young people deserve choices they understand and achievements they can build on. Reform will ultimately be judged not by qualification titles or policy announcements, but by whether young people can move confidently from one stage of learning to the next. That means creating routes they understand, achievements they can build on and opportunities they can access. When we bring that knowledge together, we can shape qualifications around the learner’s journey and make reform work where it matters most – in the choices young people make and the futures they pursue. Find out how we’re working with schools, colleges, sixth-form colleges and, importantly, learners to shape new qualifications for every future. Explore Pearson’s post-16 reform hub