State of the nation:
The story so far
Welcome to this inaugural edition of Delivering Diplomas
magazine. As the best place to start is always at the beginning, we asked
DorothyLepkowska to bring us up-to-date on the brief, but exciting,
history of the new Diploma qualifications
n 2007, Alan Johnson, the then of Skills, which had been commissioned in
I
secretary of state for education and 2004 and was published in 2006, found that
skills, hailed the introduction of the UK urgently had to raise achievement
Diplomas as “the most radical education at all level of skills by 2020. This meant
reform happening in the world today”. doubling attainment at most levels if the UK
He said that changes to the 14 to 19 was to compete in the global economy.
curriculum and examinations would The report highlighted the social and
transform the life chances of young people, economic problems caused by a stock of
“giving them a real opportunity to follow the adults in the UK who had little or no basic
career paths that are right for them, while skills, including literacy and numeracy,
equipping them with the skills employers and the need for a highly skilled workforce
need”. to confront the challenges posed by world
The Diploma was conceived amid a markets. Worryingly, it also found evidence
growing realisation that change was needed of the UK’s relatively poor international
if fewer young people were to leave school position in intermediate-level skills.
without any qualifications, and that the The first five lines of Diploma learning,
UK needed desperately to improve its skills which were rolled out in September 2008,
base. As a result, the qualification that has were met with a mixed response. The new
been developed is intended to combine the qualifications were embraced whole-heartedly
academic with the vocational and to prepare by many schools and colleges as signalling a
young people for the workplace, as well as bright new future for examinations, and plans
higher education. were put in place for their implementation at
The Education and Skills White Paper the earliest opportunity.
on 14 to 19 reforms set out the details of They were seen as an opportunity to
the Diploma, and built on the work carried engage pupils who were disaffected and
out earlier by Sir Mike Tomlinson and his disinterested in the existing curriculum.
Working Group on 14 to 19 Reform, which But there were also those who expressed
reported in 2004. concern about jumping head-first into a new
Sir Mike’s review had recommended system that had been neither tried nor tested,
wholesale changes to the qualifications and preferred to allow others to pioneer the
system, including a “unifying framework Diplomas before getting involved themselves.
of qualifications” and the replacement of Take-up figures, at around 12,000 students,
A level and GCSEs with an “overarching” were less than half of what ministers had
Diploma. Although the notion of abolishing anticipated and hoped for. However,
the traditional qualifications was rejected according to the Department for Children,
by ministers, the idea of a qualification Schools and Families, this number was
combining the academic with the vocational expected to treble to around 36,000, from
remained. September 2009.
The White Paper promised to “create a What is clear now is that Diplomas are
system better tailored to the needs of the here to stay. The introduction of another
individual pupil, in which teenagers are five lines of learning this term brings
stretched to achieve”. the number of subjects to 10, and under
Shortly afterwards, the Leitch Review current plans this will rise to a total of 17 by
 Delivering Diplomas • Volume 1 No 1 Autumn 2009
06-07 background.indd 12 17/9/09 17:08:54
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