Government plans for a new advanced British standard qualification will create a “blunt choice” between academic and vocational routes for pupils and add to uncertainty over post-16 options, leaders have warned.
School leaders’ unions the NAHT and ASCL have published responses to the government’s consultation on proposals, as has the Sixth Form Colleges Association. The consultation closes today.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak announced last year that the ABS will replace A-levels and T-levels in around 10 years, though an anticipated Labour election win means the policy is unlikely to ever come to fruition.
The government initially announced it would create a single qualification for post-16 study. But the consultation, published last December, set out plans for two – the ABS and the ABS (occupational).
