- New V levels to support Southampton young people into good jobs or study and replace the 900 qualifications that are currently available alongside A and T Levels.
- Labour commits to stronger support for students to get vital pass in English and maths GCSEs – driving up standards.
- Ambitious reforms announced in Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper will be pivotal in delivering plan for national renewal.
Generations of young people in Southampton Test will be supported to progress into work or university with new qualifications to break down barriers to opportunity and help to deliver on the Prime Minister’s plan to get two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning – academic, technical or on an apprenticeship.
Southampton Test’s MP, Satvir Kaur, has welcomed the publication of Labour’s Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper, unveiling plans for the introduction of V levels. These are new vocational qualifications tied to rigorous and real-world job standards. They will replace other qualifications to sit alongside T Levels and A levels, providing a clear option for young people who want to get on in the world of work, university or apprenticeships but want to explore different key sectors, which could include engineering, agriculture, digital or creative, before choosing where to specialise. Unlike T Levels, which are equivalent to 3 A Levels, young people who are less sure of what they want to do in the future will be able to take a mixture of V Levels and A Levels – offering more choice and flexibility.
For example, a student attending Richard Taunton Sixth Form College seeking to enter either the creative arts or media industry could choose to do a mixed V Level and A level study programme, by taking two V Levels (e.g. one in Craft and Design; and one in Media, Broadcast and Production) and one A Level in Music. Or, a student wanting to get into either the health or fitness industry – but also wants to learn more about digital – could do three V Levels (e.g. in Sport and Exercise Science; Digital; and Health and Care services).
Labour’s new qualification will streamline the confusing landscape of approximately 900 equivalent vocational qualifications at level 3 currently available to 16 to 19-year-olds which mean learners and employers in Southampton are unclear about the purpose and value of some qualifications.
Southampton’s young people will also be supported to get the vital pass they need in English and maths GCSEs. A new qualification will be targeted at students with lower attainment as a stepping stone to better prepare them to resit these GCSEs.
This will support white working class pupils in particular. More than six in ten White British pupils eligible for free school meals do not achieve a grade 4 or above in English and maths by the end of Key Stage 4, meaning they are more than twice as likely to need to resit these exams post-16 than their more affluent peers.
Labour’s package of ambitious reforms will drive up standards and better prepare young people for the world of work or further study – in turn, growing the economy and delivering on Labour’s plan for national renewal.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said: “Technical and vocational education is the backbone of this country’s economy and central to breaking the link between background and success, helping hundreds of thousands of young people get the skills they need to get good jobs.
“But for too long it has been an afterthought. Young people have been left to navigate an overcomplicated landscape and repeatedly labelled as ‘failures’ by a system that has held them back from all-important English and maths grades.
“Through our Plan for Change we are turning the tide. Our reforms are building a post-16 education system that truly matches young people’s aspirations and abilities, delivering the opportunity and growth our economy needs.”
MP for Southampton Test, Satvir Kaur said: “These are once in a generation reforms to bring coherence to a fragmented and complicated system that will be welcomed as really positive news for learners in Southampton Test.
“For too long, academics and vocational courses have been one or the other and skills have been looked down on. Now, thanks to Labour, local students are getting more flexibility to do both with a standards revolution ending the snobbery.
“We’re driving through change to get two thirds of young people in Southampton Test to be taking a gold standard apprenticeship or heading to university. We want to ensure all young people have the opportunity to succeed!”
Labour’s ambitious reforms are backed by an extra £800 million of funding for 16-19 education in 2026/27. Schools will play a greater role in ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination, supported by Ofsted, with a new approach to a guaranteed college or FE provider place available as a safety net being tested.
Two new pathways at level 2 are also being launched to prepare more young people for success, whether that is progressing from level 2, including GCSEs, onto a level 3 qualification, including A levels, T Levels or V levels, or joining the workforce.
These transformative reforms to the post-16 education landscape have been informed by the Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will publish its full recommendations later this year.