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Education for teenagers aged between 16 and 19 is changing – again. In the middle of the roll-out of T-levels, the vocational qualification meant to be an equivalent to three A-levels, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced plans to get rid of both. Instead, after GCSEs students in England would take the Advanced British Standard. This single, baccalaureate-style qualification will require teenagers to take more subjects – five, including English and maths – and combine academic and technical educational routes together.
Research suggests this might be a pretty good idea – and one that could appeal to some of Sunak’s political rivals, too. Both Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham have spoken of reducing the divide between vocational and academic education, and the sense that one pathway is somehow better than the other. As education expert Elizabeth Gregory explains, students are aware that their parents, teachers and universities think the route from A-levels to university is the superior choice. Replacing both options with one qualification could help young people choose the education that suits them best.
There may be one sticking point, though. Sunak’s plan involves more teaching hours for pupils, and more teaching means more teachers. He’s proposed a £30,000 tax-free bonus over five years for entrants to the profession, but wooing new teachers may not be the best approach when more experienced staff are quitting each year.
Many people who’ve used a baby formula preparation machine will know they can be invaluable for sleep-deprived parents dragged out of bed in the middle of the night at the demands of a hungry infant. But new research suggests they might not reach NHS-recommended temperatures for killing bacteria.
And you might not assume a heavy metal expert would be the best person to review a ballet, but then most ballets don’t feature music by Black Sabbath. Watching the performance at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Douglas Schulz found striking parallels between the hard training that goes into an ethereal dance show and the dedication it takes to reach musical success.
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