A-level results are no disaster – but the system is not out of the woods

The vast majority of young people who wanted to attend university now can – after that there are some tricky questions, writes Tom Richmond

Although A-level results day is always a special moment across thousands of schools and colleges, we should remember that today is particularly special for the young people who took their exams this year.

After their GCSEs were abandoned in 2020 due to COVID, many of this year’s students have faced the ever-daunting challenge of high stakes examinations for the first time.

That is a noteworthy achievement, even before their grades were awarded.

After two years of eye-watering grade inflation, especially in the proportion of top grades awarded in 2020 and 2021, the exam regulator Ofqual decided in advance that 2022 was going to be a halfway house.

This year results would be graded somewhere between the entirely unrepresentative grades in 2021 and the grades achieved in the last set of normal exams back in 2019.

In general, this is precisely what we have seen today.

The proportion of A or A* grades fell from 44 per cent in 2021 to 36 per cent this year, with another step down needed in 2023 to get back to something like the 25 per cent achieved in 2019.

Similarly, the proportion of A* grades fell from 19 per cent in 2021 to 15 per cent this year, although a big drop is required next summer to return to eight per cent of grades being an A* as in 2019.

Inevitably, the sharp rise in top grades at private schools attracted a lot of attention last year, with their proportion of A/A*s leaping from 45 per cent in 2019 to 70 per cent in 2021.

In 2022, this process has inevitably gone into reverse as the grade distribution across all schools and colleges begins to return to normality, with 58 per cent of private school pupils achieving A/A*s this year.

FE colleges have also experienced a noticeable drop in A/A*s, from 29 per cent last year to 17 per cent in 2022.

That said, this drop means there is only a small adjustment needed in 2023 to bring them back into line with the 13 per cent of A/A*s achieved in 2019.

Other institutions such as grammar schools and private schools have much further to fall in 2023.

So has this year been fair on students, with fewer top grades available than last year?

I would point to the absurdity of last year’s grades for any ‘fairness’ concerns rather than Ofqual’s reasonably sensible solution

I would point to the absurdity of last year’s grades as being the source of any ‘fairness’ concerns rather than Ofqual’s reasonably sensible solution implemented this year.

On that basis we should be comfortable with the grades achieved in 2022 – not least because this year’s students did not suffer the extent of school and colleges closures experienced by the previous two exam cohorts.

There were inevitably question marks about how universities would react this summer to falling top grades after last year’s spike.

From the data released by UCAS, it appears that any such fears were misplaced.

Some 374,580 applicants have been accepted onto their first-choice university degree, which is admittedly 20,000 fewer than the 395,770 in 2020.

But it is nothing like the scale of disaster that some commentators were predicting.

Similarly, the number of students accepted onto either their first or second choice degree is the second highest on record at 425,830 – only two per cent lower than 2021.

We can therefore say with some confidence that despite Ofqual bringing down the proportion of top grades this year relative to 2021, the vast majority of young people who wanted to attend university will be able to do so.

Needless to say, our A-level system is not out of the woods yet as we emerge from the pandemic.

If Ofqual do indeed bring the proportion of top grades back to 2019 levels in the summer of 2023, they will have to cut the proportion of A* grades in half in one go.

As ever, do not underestimate the politics of grade inflation – both as grades go up, and as grades go down.

But that’s for another day. For now, let’s just enjoy the achievements of so many young people.

T Level results 2022: 6 key findings

The first T Level results are out – here’s what we know.

  1. Overall performance

The total number of T Level students receiving results today was 1,029. A 92.2 per cent pass rate was achieved overall.

Overall T Level grades are calculated from core component grades, occupational specialism grades and industry placement completion status.

The proportion of students receiving a Distinction or Distinction* was 34.6 per cent, while Merit was 39.8 per cent and Pass was 17.8 per cent.

The data shows that 7.4 per cent (76 students) “partially achieved” at least one component of their T Level but not yet all three. These students will receive a “statement of achievement” listing the components and grades they have achieved, but it will not include an overall grade. The government said it will still have “value to employers, higher education providers and others”.

The remaining 0.4 per cent (four students) have been marked as “unclassified” because they have attempted at least one at least one component but not yet achieved any.

So as of today, there are 949 people with a T Level.

  1. Digital was the toughest subject

The first T Levels were available from September 2020 in three subjects: education and childcare; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development.

Today’s data shows that 89.7 per cent of the 340 students on the digital pathway passed, compared to 93.4 per cent of the 482 learners on education and childcare, and 93.7 per cent of the 207 students on construction.

The proportion receiving top grades – Distinction or Distinction* – in digital was 25.9 per cent, compared to 35.8 per cent for construction and 40.2 per cent for education and childcare.

  1. Uneven gender split

Of the 1,029 T Level students receiving results, 523 were women and 506 were men. But the figures show participation was skewed by gender stereotypes.

A huge 97 per cent of education and childcare students were women, while men made up 90 per cent and 89 per cent of construction and digital T Level learners respectively.

Overall, across all three subjects, 93.5 per cent of women achieved at least a Pass compared to 90.9 per cent for men.

Women also out-performed men in achieving the top grades, with 41.1 per cent of women getting a Distinction* or Distinction compared to 27.9 per cent of men.

  1. 6% didn’t complete an industry placement

A 45-day industry placement must be completed by each student in order to achieve a T Level. This first cohort of students were, however, allowed to spend up to 40 per cent of their placement hours remotely after the Department for Education temporarily watered down the policy to reflect the impact of Covid-19.

Today’s data shows that 62, or 6 per cent, of the 1,029 T Level students did not complete an industry placement.

Construction had the highest rate of industry placement completion at 94.2 per cent, followed closely by education and childcare at 94 per cent. In digital, 93.8 per cent of students completed an industry placement.

Women in digital had the highest rates of industry placement non-completion, 8.3 per cent, but it is worth noting that only 33 of the 304 digital T Level students were women.

There was a 100 per cent completion rate for women that passed the T Level in construction, however this only amounted to 20 students.

  1. A fifth appear to have dropped out

The Department for Education previously said that around 1,300 students started a T Level in autumn 2020.

But today’s data shows that 1,029 students received T Level results – suggesting that a fifth dropped out.

The DfE refused to share the exact drop-out figure.

  1. Over a quarter that applied for uni got rejected

UCAS said 370 students have been accepted onto a university course following their results. This is 71 per cent of all T Level learners that applied for a higher education place, however.

It means that more than a third (36 per cent) of the T Level students receiving results today will be going to university.

A-level results 2022: Top grades drop 19% but remain higher than 2019

The proportion of top A-level results achieved by students in England has dropped 19 per cent after the first summer exams in three years, but remains much higher than in 2019.

Today’s data shows 35.9 per cent of grades handed out this year were A* or A grades, down from 44.3 per cent in 2021 and 38.1 per cent in 2020 – when teachers decided grades. 

But top grades are still up on 2019 results (25.2 per cent) – the last year summer exams were held.

The proportion of grades at C and above fell to 82.1 per cent from 88.2 per cent in 2021 and 87.5 per cent in 2020, but again, this was higher than in 2019, when 75.5 per cent of grades were at that level.

Students receiving three A* grades fell to 8,570, down from 12,865 in 2021.

However, this still remained higher than the 7,775 seen in 2020, and more than triple the 2,785 students who reached that benchmark in 2019.

The Joint Council for Qualifications has published the results from the first summer A-level exams since the pandemic began. Students were awarded centre-assessed grades in 2020 and teacher-assessed grades in 2021 because of Covid disruption.

Grades ‘broadly midway’ between 2021 and 2019

The drop in top grades was expected. Exams watchdog Ofqual instructed exam boards to peg the results in between those received in 2019 when formal exams last happened and 2021, which saw by far the highest top grades on record.

Exam boards are publishing grade boundaries today, which are generally lower this summer in 2019. However, Ofqual says not all grades boundaries are lower since “position of the boundaries also reflects the difficulty of the assessment”. 

Dr Jo Saxton, chief regulator, said the class of 2022 “can be so proud of what they have achieved”. 

“I felt strongly that it would not have been right to go straight back to pre-pandemic grading in one go but accept that we do need to continue to take steps back to normality. 

“These results overall, coming as they do broadly midway between 2021 and 2019, represent a staging post on that journey.”

Ofqual is aiming to confirm grading plans for 2023 summer exams in September.

Private schools and London students fare best once again

The proportion of top grades awarded was once again highest in private schools. This year, 58 per cent of grades issued to private school pupils were As or above, compared to 35 per cent in academies, and 30.7 per cent in comprehensive schools.

As was the case last year, students in London fared the best in the exams, with 39 per cent of grades at A* to A, compared to 30.8 per cent in the north east.

London also enjoyed the greatest rise in top grades between 2019 and 2022. Over the three years, the proportion of A* and A grades rose by 12.1 percentage points in the capital, compared to 7.8 percentage points in the north east.

This will likely prompt questions about the uneven regional impact of the pandemic on students during the last two years. 

However we will have to wait until the autumn to see how other different groups of students, such as those on free school meals, fared.

This is because Ofqual has had less time to analyse the results than in the last two years, when grades were submitted earlier.

Today’s data also shows the gender gap in top grades has widened since 2019 across the United Kingdom.

This year, 14.8 per cent of grades issued to females were A*s, compared to 14.4 per cent of grades issued to males. This contrasts to 2019 when males’ outcomes were higher.

The proportion of A* to A grades issued to females was 37.4 per cent, compared to 35.2 per cent for males, whereas outcomes were the same in 2019.

Don’t ‘fixate’ on grades, says leader

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL school leaders’ union, congratulated those receiving results. 

“To say they deserve great credit is an understatement given the context of a global pandemic which has caused huge disruption to their studies over the past two-and-a-half years.”

However, he warned it was “likely that results at the level of schools, colleges, and students will be uneven because of the highly variable impact of the pandemic with those affected more by infections potentially faring less well than others”. 

“Adaptations were made to exams to try to mitigate this impact in as far as that is possible but this is not a normal year by any measure and it is important that we focus on supporting the progression of students rather than fixating too much on grades.”

T Level results: A third achieve top grades but digital proves toughest subject

More than a third of students have achieved top grades in the first ever set of T Level results – but digital has proven to be the most difficult subject.

Overall, 34.6 per cent of the 1,029 T Level students receiving results today were awarded a Distinction or Distinction*. The overall pass rate was 92.2 per cent.

The 482 students on the education and childcare pathway performed the best as 40.2 per cent achieved top grades and a 93.4 per cent pass rate. The proportion of the 207 students on the design, surveying and planning for construction T Level scoring top grades was 35.8 per cent as 93.7 per cent passed.

But only 25.9 per cent of the 340 students on the digital production, design and development T Level got top grades as 89.7 per cent passed.

T Level results in full

Today’s data shows that 10 per cent of digital students did not complete the full T Level and only partially achieved. A “partial achievement” means they completed at least one component of the course – core, occupational specialism or industry placement – but didn’t achieve all three.

In construction, 5.3 per cent of students only partially achieved and in education and childcare, that figure wa 6.4 per cent.

Sector leaders suspected that digital would prove to be the toughest subject to achieve in especially for students in rural areas, largely because of the challenge of finding employers to take them on for the mandatory 45-day work placement.

This cohort of T Level students were allowed to spend up to 40 per cent of their placement hours remotely after the Department for Education temporarily watered down the policy to reflect the impact of Covid-19. Today’s data shows that 94 per cent of all T Level students completed an industry placement.

T Levels are the government’s flagship new post-16 qualifications, designed to be the technical equivalent to A-levels.

The two-year courses launched for the first time in September 2020 in three subjects: education and childcare; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development.

They have been delivered by 44 colleges and schools.

The first T Level students received a one-off grading adjustment to reflect the impact of Covid, the government said yesterday. Awarding organisations were asked to be “generous” in their awards in line with the approach being taken for A-levels in the first year that exams have been sat since the pandemic.

The DfE previously said that around 1,300 students began the qualifications two years ago, but today’s shows that only 1,029 have received results. FE Week has asked the DfE to confirm whether this means that a fifth dropped out.

Education secretary James Cleverly said: “Today is a really exciting time for our pioneering T Level students, as the first ever group to take this qualification will pick up their results. I have no doubt they will be the first of many and embark on successful careers.”

Two awarding organisations were chosen to design and award the first three T Levels: NCFE took on education and childcare, while Pearson was responsible for digital and construction.

Zac Aldridge, director of qualifications and assessment at NCFE, said: “This is a hugely important day that signifies years of hard work from across the sector and government to strengthen the options available to young people and tackle the widening skills gap.

“We’ve seen first-hand just how much students – and employers – can gain from T Levels, and we’re incredibly proud of this first cohort as they receive their results, particularly given the challenges posed by the pandemic. A huge congratulations, too, to the teachers, providers and businesses for their hard work in bringing these qualifications to life.”

Exams can’t close the attainment gap. We must address the underlying causes

Disadvantaged students are more likely to see their grades adversely affected by the Covid pandemic, but expecting the exams system alone to eradicate these inequalities is unrealistic, write Dr Michelle Meadows and Professor Jo-Anne Baird.

Tomorrow’s A-level, AS, BTEC and T-level results represent students’ achievements in a system that is returning to normal. Examinations have never been so popular as when they were not available during the pandemic and they are back in most subjects this year.

This year the assessments have had some adaptations, such as forewarning of topics that would be covered, or changing practical activities in science.

Students taking this year’s exams have been studying for the courses over the pandemic and their final year of GCSE study was affected too.

The adaptations and this year’s grading are designed to recognise the challenges that students have faced.

The impact of the pandemic on educational opportunities has been complex. Even some young people from relatively well-off backgrounds will have been hard hit and will have had to work exceptionally hard to catch-up. 

For example, parents such as medics and teachers may not have been able to give their children support because they were working flat out. 

That said, even with the additional support in place, on average the performance of students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be impacted more than other students.

Learning loss is greater for poorer students

Research has shown that the impact of the pandemic on learning loss has been greater for disadvantaged students, such as those receiving free school meals.  

We know that young people from economically disadvantaged families, single-parent households and with less educated parents spent less time learning than their advantaged peers.  

Those with SEND had a great deal of trouble accessing the equipment and support they needed to engage with education.

And then of course there was the issue of digital poverty. No wonder commentators are sceptical about the impact of England’s national tutoring programme. 

There is no evidence that the adaptations or this year’s grading policy will eradicate inequalities. After all, that would be an unrealistic expectation of the qualification system.

For the past two years, teacher assessment bailed the qualification system out, so that young people could progress to the next stage of their education or employment. 

Grades from teacher assessment are well known to be higher than from examinations, almost universally, wherever they are used. Returning to pre-pandemic standards was never going to be easy.  

Grades issued over this period need to be interpreted in the context in which the qualifications were taken.  

Rather than reverting to 2019 standards in one fell swoop, there has been a transition, with the 2022 standards representing a mid-way point between 2021 and 2019 outcomes.  

This is a sensible policy; an immediate return to 2019 standards would have been highly disruptive at a time when stability is sorely required.  

Likewise, a whole new set of standards through wholesale qualification reform would take time and requires a level of resourcing that is not available in the education system presently.

‘Don’t feel dismayed by comparisons with last year’

Teachers, lecturers and school and college leaders analysing the results should not feel dismayed by comparisons with last year.  

Instead, a more sensible comparison to make would be with 2019 results, or better still, with an average of 2021 and 2019 results.  

But schools and colleges typically have small numbers of learners entering for each subject and results can be volatile with small numbers of students.  

Now more than ever, university admissions tutors should take account of the context in which the grades were gained, to appreciate applicants’ capabilities in the face of varying levels of educational support.

The pandemic has shone a light on, as well as exacerbated educational inequality. Reviews of the qualification systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have started and calls for reforms in England are being made.  

Addressing issues of inclusion, diversity and equality are consistent themes. Whilst qualification reform is a necessary element to impact on these issues, it will not be enough in itself.

‘We must overcome educational barriers’

Privileged groups are able to turn systems to their advantage wherever there are levers that can be used, so closing attainment gaps has to go beyond qualification design to the underlying causes of differences in attainment – to the educational barriers and opportunities themselves.  

Policies that appear to be helpful, counter-intuitively, can turn out to be no help at all. For example, we know from research that modular examinations did not close attainment gaps and offering more options in examinations does not help either. 

Qualification reform for A-levels is surely necessary in the next few years of pandemic recovery, since it was last undertaken wholesale in 2010.  

A static qualification system does not spell high quality. However, reforms will need to be accompanied by good teacher supply, professional development and appropriate funding for schools and colleges.  

The economy of the future involves changing careers for young people, so we need a qualification system that allows for second chances, for changing trajectory and that engages with issues of local, national and international skills needs. 

A healthy choice of vocational qualifications also needs to form part of that mix. 

Dr Michelle Meadows was Ofqual’s deputy chief regulator and executive director for strategy, risk and research until September 2021. She is now associate professor in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford.

Dr Jo-Anne Baird sits on the Ofqual standards advisory group and is a commissioner for the Independent Assessment Commission. She is director of the Department of Education at Oxford.

First T Level students to receive one-off grading adjustment

The first T Level students will receive a one-off grading adjustment in tomorrow’s results to reflect the impact of Covid.

Awarding organisations have been asked to be “generous” in their awards to the 1,000-odd T Level learners – like the approach being taken for A-levels in the first year that exams have been sat since the pandemic.

T Level students will receive an overall Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction*, which is derived from the grades they achieved on the core and the occupational specialism components – those assessed by exams – of the qualification.

A student must also complete the mandatory 45-day industry placement to achieve their T Level – although this requirement has been watered down and allowed to be partially completed virtually to reflect Covid related barriers faced by employers.

The Department for Education told FE Week that senior examiners reviewed the quality of student work for the occupational specialism and the core over a range of marks, before recommending grade boundaries based on all of the available evidence. Awarding organisations were then responsible for setting grade boundaries, overseen by Ofqual.

Grade boundaries will not be released until results are published tomorrow morning.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, which is responsible for the technical qualification element of T Levels, said it agreed with exams regulator Ofqual to “take into account the impact of the pandemic before awarding took place – not in response to having seen any grades”.

“This was to keep T Levels in line with the approach taken by DfE for A Levels. The aim was to help ensure that T Level students were not disadvantaged,” a spokesperson added.

T Levels are the government’s flagship new post-16 qualifications, designed to be the technical equivalent of A-levels.

Tomorrow’s results will be for the first wave of T Level subjects, started in September 2020: education and childcare awarded by NCFE; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development awarded by Pearson.

The DfE previously said that around 1,300 students began the qualifications two years ago, but this week said that only around 1,000 will receive their results tomorrow.

It is unclear what level of detail will be published.

Students who have met all of the requirements of their T Level will receive a certificate with their overall grade and component grades. But students who have not met all of the requirements will receive a “statement of achievement” listing the components and grades they have achieved. It will not include an overall grade but the government said it will still have “value to employers, higher education providers and others”.

T Level results will be published alongside A-level and other vocational and technical qualification results tomorrow morning at 9.30am.

Leaked AQA chemistry A-level paper was stolen from Parcelforce van

Students who had “full access” to an A-level chemistry paper stolen from a Parcelforce van and then leaked online have been disqualified, AQA has confirmed.

The exam board said it reported the theft to police after students who sat chemistry paper 2 on June 20 said they recognised questions that had previously been posted online.

Today, the board confirmed the paper was stolen as it was in transit to a school. Police are “still working to find those responsible”, AQA said in an email to leaders, seen by FE Week’s sister paper, Schools Week.

Where the board has identified students who had “full access” to the paper before the exam, they have been disqualified. However, images circulated on social media were of too poor quality to offer a “clear advantage”, AQA said.

But after completing “extensive analysis” on the impact of grades, AQA said it had ruled out “a gain in marks or performance that would impact the grade boundaries”.

“This means that the students who sat this paper have performed just as we expected them to.”

A Parcelforce Worldwide spokesperson said they “cannot comment further on what is an ongoing police investigation”.

‘Not possible’ to replace paper

AQA said while images of the paper were circulating on social media, “they were of such poor quality that they would not have offered a significant clear advantage to students who saw these small extracts of the paper”. 

“Nor would students seeing those images have known that they were of the actual paper, as many other revision aids, including past paper images were being legitimately shared. 

“We understand that some of you were disappointed that we did not replace the paper, but unfortunately it really was not possible to replace this paper with a suitable alternative in the time we had.”   

AQA said its analysis included looking at performance statistics on all three chemistry papers and compared results between 2022 and 2019 paper two exams. 

It also modelled predicted performance and cross checked it against “the intelligence available to our exams Integrity team about individual students”.

The board added: “We’re very disappointed this happened, especially after all the hard work you and your students have put into these last two years to prepare. 

“We hope that this offers you the reassurance you and your students need to feel satisfied that the results issued to our students are accurate, and that we’ve taken appropriate action against individuals known to have had an unfair advantage.”

Not the first theft of exam papers

An AQA spokesperson said: “We reported the theft of this exam paper to the police and are continuing to work with them to find those responsible. Our exams integrity team identified students who had full access to the paper before the exam and they’ve been disqualified from the qualification.

“Our research team carried out extensive analysis of students’ performance on the paper, and also compared it with performance on the same paper in 2019, and this investigation has found that students who sat this paper have performed just as we expected them to. This means there’s been no impact on grade boundaries.”

It is not the first time exam boards have had to take action following thefts of papers or the vans transporting them.

In 2003, AQA had to rewrite papers for half a million students after a Parcelforce van was stolen. 

In 2005, a rewrite on a similar scale was required because papers were stolen from one van and lost from another.

Another theft of a Parcelforce van in 2008 prompted the rewriting of 46 papers, and AQA had to rewrite a batch of papers again in 2015 after the same thing happened.

More recently, in 2019, AQA had to replace four exam papers already sent to schools after a batch was stolen from a van.

Large accountancy apprenticeship provider excels with grade 1 in first Ofsted inspection

An independent learning provider training more than 600 accountancy apprentices has been given an ‘outstanding’ rating after its first full inspection by Ofsted.

The education watchdog visited First Intuition Cambridge Ltd in June, and in its report published today gave the firm grade ones in all areas.

At the time of the visit just over 600 apprentices were in training across levels 3, 4 and 7 qualifications, with more than half on level 7 accountancy taxation courses.

Amy Forrest, managing director of First Intuition Cambridge, said: “We are incredibly proud, it’s such an achievement to receive that grade, and to have our apprenticeship programmes recognised as outstanding is fantastic.

“Receiving the outstanding rating demonstrates the brilliant impact that these programmes have for our employers and our apprentices.”

The inspectors reported that “apprentices feel proud to be part of the accountancy profession,” with Forrest citing the firm’s relationship with employers that help design the programmes as a key part of that.

Amy Forrest, managing director of First Intuition Cambridge Ltd, said she was delighted with the Ofsted grade

The report said the mutual respect from staff allowed learners to take responsibility for their studies, noting that they “develop important skills such as preparing to deal with difficult clients and prioritising work”.

It said that “extensive support” is provided to prepare apprentices for end of course assessments, while workplace mentors are “highly valued” by learners to “rapidly improve their skills”.

Inspectors said that most tutors continue to work as accountants so that up-to-date industry standards are maintained.

Tutors are aware of individual training needs for apprentices, inspectors said, adding that they used “highly effective teaching strategies”.

The firm started 13 years ago, with Forrest saying the firm was about “continuous improvement,” having managed to grow its numbers while maintaining the quality of teaching. It began delivering apprenticeships for the first time in 2017.

An urgent call to demystify apprenticeships

As we approach exam results, the option for a young person to undertake an apprenticeship needs to be a mainstream consideration, equal to that of choosing to study at university. To reach the point that both pathways are seen in equal terms, we need to make sure apprenticeships are better understood by students, the teachers who support them and their parents or carers who wish to help them pursue their ambitions. 

The challenge, as shown in a recent report from PLMR’s Education Practice, is that teachers in schools are not confidently well-equipped to signpost students to information about apprenticeships or how to apply for one. Whilst staff in further education and sixth form colleges are better prepared to do so, there is a paucity of clear, easily-accessible information available and known to teachers, students and their parents or carers. UCAS has been making strides in this space but we need to do much more.

So-called ‘careers advice’ needs to be about what is right for students, not institutions.

Advice tends towards university options by default as schools and colleges certainly use entries into university as a measure of success promoted to prospective and current students and their families. University degrees are what the majority of teachers and many parents easily understand as they themselves are university graduates. And even for those parents who don’t have a degree, going to university may well be something they aspire to for their children without realising this may not be the best route into work. 

It is not easy to advise young people about different options if you have limited understanding or experience yourself of what those entail. Yet, while universities can provide brilliant opportunities, it is not going to be the best route for every student into a meaningful, rewarding lifetime of work – so we need to make it as easy as possible for people to understand all the options.

To achieve this, we need to change the way we think about careers advice – especially as many people hear ‘career’ and automatically think of white collar jobs. We need to think more about how we advise young people to get on the right path to gain the skills they will need to work in the sectors that ignite their passion and excitement for what lies ahead – an apprenticeship is a brilliant way to kick off that road to success.

Parents and carers have a significant impact on the choices young people make. Interestingly, it may be grandparents who understand apprenticeships better than parents or carers, as people their age and older may well have started off as an apprentice in accountancy, nursing or another industry. Apprenticeship routes for those lines of work fell out of favour in a clamour for university degrees, and apprenticeships became more associated with learning a trade. 

Yet, there is now a huge range of apprenticeships available for school leavers, including with organisations ranging from Airbus to the NHS to management consultancies like KPMG. These apprenticeships are available at a variety of levels from L2 (GCSE equivalent) up to L6 (degree equivalent) and beyond. Apprenticeships are versatile enough to be suitable both for young people who are high academic achievers or for those who may have struggled in the classroom environment or prefer to learn on-the-job. 

We are continuing to deal with the ramifications of the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. If we are going help young people take their next steps in this environment, and indeed tackle these sorts of challenges as the adults in the society of the future, we need to ensure they are well-advised about their options. Government needs to work closely with the education sector, including UCAS, to urgently demystify apprenticeships so students, teachers, parents and carers can better understand all available options and the life-changing opportunities an apprenticeship can offer.