First wave of V Levels confirmed – what you need to know

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced the first wave of new Level 3 and Level 2 qualifications scheduled for first teach from September 2027. These developments mark an important step in the government’s wider reform of post‑16 qualifications and will shape the future pathways available to students across England.

The DfE has also confirmed that from 2027, funding approval will be removed from legacy Level 3 Extended Diploma qualifications with 1080 GLH or more in existing T Level subject areas, except for large Health and Social Care qualifications, which will be removed from 2028 to coincide with the introduction of a T Level in Social Care.

Other legacy qualifications at Level 2 and at Level 3, including Cambridge Technicals, Cambridge Advanced Nationals and BTECs will have funding approval removed in phases as new qualifications are introduced from 2027, with a list to be published by June 2026.

Overview of what’s been confirmed

New Level 3 V Levels announced for first teach September 2027

The DfE has confirmed that Level 3 V Levels will be introduced in the following subject areas:

• Digital

• Education & Early Years

• Accounting & Finance

New Level 2 qualifications for first teach September 2027

The first Level 2 qualifications to be introduced are:

• Level 2 Foundation Certificates in:

  • Digital

  • Education & Early Years

• Level 2 Occupational Certificates in:

  • Education & Early Years

  • Hospitality & Catering

From 2028, more subjects will be added to V Level options, including:

• Business and administration

• Care services

• Construction

• Engineering and manufacturing

• Health and science

• Legal (as part of legal, finance and accounting route)

• Sales, marketing and procurement

What are V Levels?

V Levels are new flagship vocational qualifications that sit alongside A Levels (academic) and T Levels (technical), equivalent in size to one A-level, allowing students to mix and match academic and vocational subjects to create mixed study programmes that suit them.

What does this mean for schools and colleges currently teaching our current Level 3 computing/IT vocational qualifications?

From first teach September 2027, new V Levels will replace all digital Level 3 qualifications, including our Cambridge Technicals and Cambridge Advanced Nationals in this subject area. See the table below to see which of our qualifications are affected:

What does this mean for schools and colleges currently teaching other Level 3 Cambridge Technicals subjects that were due to be defunded this year?

For the larger size Cambridge Technicals qualifications in Health and Social Care (720 GLH and 1080 GLH) and Applied Science (720 GLH) that were previously announced as having funding removed from August 2026:

• Funding for our Level 3 Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care (1080 GLH) is being extended into 2027/28. This will now be defunded in August 2028 for new starts with the introduction of the T Level in social care from September 2028.

• The Level 3 Cambridge Technical Diploma in Health and Social Care (720 GLH) and the Level 3 Cambridge Technical Diploma in Applied Science (720 GLH) will not have funding removed in 2026/27 as previously announced, we’ll provide a further update as soon as we can.

We’ll be updating our Level 3 Funding Guide shortly for how this impacts all subjects for 2026/27 and 2027/28.

What does this mean for schools and colleges currently teaching Level 2 Cambridge Technicals?

We’ll shortly be publishing a guide to funding at Level 2.

We’re here to support you

We know that you may have questions about timelines, transition, and how these reforms will affect your current and future cohorts. As always, our priority is ensuring you feel confident and informed and we're committed to supporting you through these changes every step of the way. Over the coming months, we'll provide:

• Clear guidance on timelines and phase out arrangements

• Dedicated support for curriculum planning and transition

• Resources and advisory support from our subject and assessment specialists

• Regular updates as further DfE announcements are made

If you have any immediate questions or need tailored support, our team is ready to help. Please contact us at partnerships@cambridge.org

Cambridge OCR Team
partnerships@cambridge.org
01223 553998