The main changes

The education reforms for those aged 14-19 are designed to help all young people fulfil their potential by the age of 19 and enjoy ongoing success in learning, work and life.

There are significant benefits to young people from staying in education or training until the age of 18, as they may improve their qualifications and skills.

This will be valuable to them financially because they will be more likely to be employed and to get jobs paying higher salaries. For example, on average, a young person with five or more good GCSEs earns over £100,000 more during their lifetime than one who leaves learning with qualifications below Level 2. There are also much broader benefits: they are more likely to be healthy and to have good social skills.

The curriculum and qualifications for 14-19 year olds are changing. The aim of these reforms is to:

encourage more young people to stay in learning - currently 77% stay on beyond 16 and the aim is for all to stay in education or training until 18 - education or training can happen at school, at college or in a job
provide more options for teenagers
offer courses that take into account the different ways teenagers like to learn
add to the variety of places where they can learn, including the workplace
build a highly skilled workforce to compete in a global economy
give employers a say in the way new courses are put together
all schools are required to offer a programme of work-related learning for 14-16 year olds, which will include enterprise education and work experience.

The main changes are:

An exciting new way to learn with 14-19 Diplomas

14-19 Diplomas will offer your teenager a mix of theoretical and applied learning, including functional English, mathematics and ICT, and the opportunity to develop a specialism or take on some complementary study.
Diplomas will provide your teenager with exciting and challenging opportunities to increase their employability and experience different styles of learning in a variety of settings.
Designed in partnership with employers and higher education institutions, the Diplomas will be widely recognised and valued.

The first five will be available in selected schools and colleges from 2008, and by 2013 all 14-19 year olds will have an entitlement to study towards any one of the 14 Diplomas.

The National Qualifications Framework shows how the 14-19 Diplomas fit with other qualifications, such as GCSEs.

For more information on 14-19 Diplomas, see Choices in Year 9.

Priority for essential skills

Good language, mathematics and IT skills are essential for adult life and important to employers. So, these skills will become part of all qualifications - including GCSEs, Diplomas and Apprenticeships - and will be available as stand-alone qualifications. Functional skills are being tested out in some schools and colleges from September 2007. They will be taught as part of Diploma programmes when they start in 2008 and as part of the other qualifications from 2010.

Less coursework in GCSEs

From September 2007, mathematics will no longer have any coursework assessment. For many subjects, including business studies and geography, from September 2009 there will be controlled assessments done in school or college that are teacher set and marked, instead of coursework.

A levels to stretch the most able

Changes from 2008 will include an optional extended project alongside A levels, with pass grades of distinction and merit.

For more information on changes to A levels, see Years 10 and 11.

More options in the Foundation Learning Tier

Qualifications at Entry Level and Level 1 are being re-designed to give learning opportunities to those who may struggle at this stage to get GCSEs. The aim is to help them move on to GCSEs or other Level 2 qualifications.

Expansion in Young Apprenticeships

Young Apprenticeships give teenagers a taste of real work. Alongside doing GCSEs, they spend around two days a week getting practical experience with an employer or training provider and gaining a work-related qualification, such as a City & Guilds qualification or a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). Numbers have increased steadily from 1,000 in 2004 to 9,000 young people starting Young Apprenticeships in 2007 in a wide range of employment sectors, including retail and sports management.

For more information on Young Apprenticeships, see Choices in Year 9.