New Advanced British Standard qualifications

Earlier this month at the Conservative Party Conference Rishi Sunak announced the introduction of a new qualification. Described in his speech as `the new Baccalaureate-style qualification` the `Advanced British Standard` will replace A-Levels and T-levels. Students will study five subjects after their GCSE`s, instead of the current three, and will be be required to study maths and English up to the age of 18; currently students can drop both subjects at 16.

The ABS (Advanced British Standard) is a qualification that `takes the best of A-levels and T Levels and brings them together into a single qualification`, according to the Department for Education (DfE).

The primary aim for this change is to place academic and technical abilities on an equal level. Another feature of the new qualifications is their dual level: students will be able to select a `major` and `minor` level for each subject, the major going into greater depth. Students will be expected to study five subjects at a range of levels, with three majors and two minors thought to be the typical choice.

The government has said these changes will help bring educational standards up to the levels of leading European countries. There has been over recent years a decline in literacy and numeracy for students leaving school in the UK. These core skills are of vital importance in all professions, and the new requirement for students to continue studying them till the age of 18 will better prepare them for whatever workplace they choose to enter.

These are long term reforms, and it may take as long as ten years for the new qualifications to be fully implemented. Such sweeping changes will  `need careful development, in partnership with students, teachers, leaders, schools, colleges, universities and employers, as well as the public.` The government has promised to `consult extensively, and in detail, over the coming months on the design of the new qualification`.

A significant consequence of these new proposals is that post 16 year old pupils will be spending far more time in the classroom. A figure of 1,475 extra hours has been stated by the government. This is an increase of more than 200 hours compared to the average A-Level student studying just three subjects

Such sweeping changes as these will take some time to put in place, and the government has announced that they expect it to be least a decade before the new ABS qualifications are rolled account across all schools. Pupils who have just started primary school this September are expected to be the first cohort to be awarded the new qualification, meaning it will be in the middle of the next decade before the the new qualifications are awarded.

A consultation document is expected to be released next autumn, with a government white paper issued the following year, which will outline any concerns with the new qualification, and how they will be tackled. A-levels and T-levels will continue for the time being.

As previously mentioned, students will generally be expected to study five subjects under the ABS classification. There will be the option for certain subjects to be studied in greater detail, with  these particular qualifications being termed `majors`, and those remaining termed as `minors`. It is likely universities will mandate majors in particular subjects for certain courses, though this has not yet been clarified.

The range of subjects available, along with the option to study each at major and minor levels, means the qualifications will be extremely versatile.  Students will be able to fine tune their educational portfolio to compliment their career choices. It will be possible for students who which to become engineers or architects to study Building Service Engineering, or gas Engineering, complementing these career-specific qualifications with mathematics and physics. More traditional subjects will of course still be available, allowing students desirous of a broader educational package to choose history, art, marketing, maths and English.