Analysis: Does Rishi Sunak’s reform of A-Levels add up?

At the Conservative Party conference, Rishi Sunak outlined a major shakeup of A-Levels with a plan to scrap the qualification for the ‘Advanced British Standard’.

His plan would involve making maths and English compulsory until age eighteen, instead of the current sixteen.

He argues that students can broaden their interests before entering higher education which gives them more of a chance to learn a wider range of subjects.

However, there are concerns for the less academically inclined students who would be more suited for more technical or vocational programmes, there was a decrease of 7.4% of students taking A-Level English this year which means the subject is becoming increasingly unpopular and maths only had a marginal increase of 33%.

This reflects a growing dislike for continuing core subjects for students, but it does represent the reasons for the government, intentions to put in place reform.

One student from the University of Leeds disagreed with the move, saying it is “stupid to make people do something that they have no interest in continuing after A-Level”

There are also concerns about a potential backlog for those not passing their compulsory subjects since it will greatly expand their time in education.

The need for more teachers under this new proposal could be a strain on the system. Furthermore, for those who want to specialise in a desired field would possibly dislike the expansion of A-level education.

In addition to this, the government has recently introduced T-Levels which are being greatly encouraged. The T-Levels were introduced in 2020 and are a two-year course. These are technical qualifications, which are apprenticeship-based and focus on vocational skills. They are equivalent to A-Levels but allow a more practical approach to studies. The T-Levels seem very different to the new proposed reforms and certainly contradictory to them.

Although the government plans to offer £30k bonuses to teachers for the first five years of this policy, concerns have been raised due to teaching capacity problems and ongoing strike action. Could this lead to further strikes?

Furthermore, some universities have gotten rid of English Literature BA, such as Sheffield Hallam University, due to lack of funding and it being labelled a “low-value course”, so the practicality of these reforms is to be questioned.

A student who prefers to remain anonymous on this topic states that the reforms are “unnecessary” since they believe A-level maths and English “become quite specialist and non-applicable to a lot of real-life scenarios”. People choose their A-Levels selectively for their future to ready themselves for a world of work.

Those who do not want to specialise in English and maths would feel unsatisfied by these reforms. This could lead to a lack of enthusiasm in the classroom resulting in disruptions, lack of concentration and lower grades.

Issy Maguire, a psychology graduate from the University of Leeds, does not agree with the new reforms as she argues that “this singles out people with specific learning difficulties, like dyslexia or dyscalculia and removes the joy from education because the subjects are forced upon young people, taking away their autonomy over their education”.

Chris Husbands, a leading education expert, disagrees with a subject-based curriculum after GSCEs. He declares that this style of education only works if “the entire system is geared around leading up to a baccalaureate-type exam”.

Nevertheless, the reforms are unlikely to happen anytime soon, and it has been suggested that plans are unexpected to take place before the next general election. Educational reforms like these require a huge overfall of resources and planning which must be effectively organised.