Advancing British Standards? Exploring public attitudes towards a baccalaureate-style 16-18 education system
Over the last two decades, Edge has been calling for an education system that allows young people to develop knowledge and skills across a range of disciplines to best prepare them for life and work – a truly broad and balanced approach.
Through our Bacc to the Drawing Board policy series, Edge has explored different options for a broader, baccalaureate-style post-16 education system – one that allows young people to study a blend of academic, technical and vocational options at 16.
In this report, Advancing British Standards? Exploring public attitudes towards a baccalaureate-style 16-18 education system, we unveil the findings from our nationally representative poll of more than 2,000 adults in England, conducted with Public First in February 2024, testing the extent to which there is appetite for such reform, the case for change, and the drivers of support or opposition.
At Edge, we have thought deeply about what a baccalaureate programme may look like in England, as part of our call for a truly broad and balanced curriculum. We therefore welcomed the Government’s intention to introduce the Advanced British Standard in England. The ABS would be made up of a series of majors and minors, allowing students to study a broader range of subjects up to 18. The replacement of A Levels and T Levels by one qualification is also a promising step towards true parity of esteem. We have concerns about the delivery of the ABS, specifically around teacher recruitment, but we are ultimately optimistic about the direction of thought around it.
We have done some deep thinking about the design of ABS. As well as submitting to the DfE’s ABS consultation, we’ve also sought views from the general public as well as our Youth Network through a focus group session. There are also lessons that we can learn from previous policies, such as 14-19 Diplomas, which we explored in a recent webinar.