Post-16 vocational reform

The new post-16 vocational landscape

The post-16 education landscape is changing, and from September 2025 will look significantly different.

Where are we now?

In July 2024 the Department for Education (DfE) announced an immediate pause and review of the post-16 vocational qualification reform in England. In summary this means:

• A one year pause on the removal of 16-19 funding from Level 3 qualifications assessed as overlapping T levels. This means our Level 3 Cambridge Technicals qualifications originally scheduled to have their funding approval removed after 31 July 2024 will now continue to remain available up to 31 July 2025.

• Level 3 Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs) are still approved for funding for first teaching in September 2025. This means all our Level 3 180 GLH (AS Level size) and 360 GLH (A Level size) Cambridge Advanced Nationals (AAQs) submitted in Cycle 1 are approved for funding, so can be taken as part of a post-16 programme of study from September 2025.

How did we get here?

Following its review of post-16 qualifications and below in 2022, the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed a new streamlined qualifications system for students aged 16 and over from September 2025. Under this reform most Level 3 qualifications would be defunded and students would have two routes available to them:

• A Levels or a mixed curriculum of, typically, two A Levels alongside an Alternative Academic Qualification (AAQ)
• T Levels or they may wish to enrol in an apprenticeship.

These reforms set in train by the last government are under currently under review by DfE (see above), with the outcomes of the review published at the end of the year. 

We’ll update you as we know more about this and will continue to provide you with everything you might need as a result of these changes. Sign up for email updates to receive our newsletter and all the latest updates direct to your inbox. 

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