Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, comments on today’s Level 3 qualification results.
“Congratulations to students receiving their results in Level 3 Vocational and Technical Qualifications, T-levels, A-levels and AS-levels. This is a red-letter day for thousands of young people and there will be both celebrations and disappointments. Students in the latter category should not despair, however, as there are a range of options available. Please do speak to your school or college who will help you decide on your next steps.
“The staff in our schools and colleges also deserve great credit for all they have done to support these young people in their courses and exams. While the dark days of the pandemic are in the past, its legacy continues to haunt us, as many of these students experienced severe disruption to their education. In particular, this impacted upon young people from disadvantaged backgrounds whose families were also adversely affected by the subsequent cost-of-living crisis.
“We will have to wait for a full equalities analysis of these results, but wide gaps in attainment in the top A-level grades continue to be apparent between English regions, broadly reflecting differing rates of prosperity and disadvantage. More students in London and the South East achieve A*-A grades than in other regions, particularly in the Midlands and the North. These figures are a sign of the deep inequalities in our society, and we welcome the new government’s focus on tackling child poverty and disadvantage. This work will need to produce tangible results sooner rather than later.
“It is great to see that maths continues its all-conquering trajectory as the most popular A-level subject, but other subjects, such as creative arts and design and technology, have fared less well over the past decade. This is a result of previous government policy which has tended to marginalise these subjects. It is worrying to see a further significant decline in entries to drama this year, and we hope that the new government’s curriculum and assessment review will champion these subjects as they are vital both to our cultural life and our economy.”