What are T-levels and what are the grades worth?
T-levels, introduced in 2020, are vocational qualifications aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds, external in England, which focus more on practical subjects than academic ones.
Each course lasts two years and is roughly equivalent to three A-levels.
The qualification includes a mixture of both classroom learning and on-the-job experience, with a work placement of at least 315 hours – or about nine weeks – making up roughly 20% of the course.
T-levels are designed to cater for students who want an alternative to A-levels but do not wish to take an apprenticeship, which usually requires as much as 80% of a student’s time to be spent with an employer.
Final grades are based on a combination of exams, coursework and completion of the industry placement.
In 2023, the overall pass rate for the 3,448 students taking the qualification was 90.5% (3,119).
But figures show that only two-thirds completed the course (5,210 students began a T-level three years ago).
That compares with a retention rate of 95% for A-level students and 92% for those taking applied general qualifications in the same year.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk…