Skills minister Robert Halfon has pleaded with college principals to convince school leavers to study T Levels amid plans to replace the qualifications with the Advanced British Standard (ABS).
Halfon told today’s Association of Colleges conference there would be no slowing down of the rollout of the flagship courses, insisting they will be the “backbone” of the new overarching qualification which ministers aim to introduce in 10 years’ time.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak announced the ABS last month during the government’s T Levels celebratory week. It would replace both T Levels and A-levels as a single post-16 qualification in which 16 to 19-year-olds would “typically” study five subjects including some form of English and maths.
The announcement left many college leaders and staff feeling “demoralised”, considering the reform comes only three years after T Levels were launched and with over £1 billion investment.
