An alternative Bacc: 14-19 Education: A New Baccalaureate

An alternative Bacc: 14-19 Education: A New Baccalaureate

• The independent education charity Edge Foundation and chair Lord Ken Baker publishes report titled 14-19 Education: A New Baccalaureate
• The report details an alternative Baccalaureate (Bacc) to the Government’s currently proposed English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
• A report published today titled 14-19 Education: A New Baccalaureate by the Edge Foundation and their chair Lord Ken Baker suggests that the English Baccalaureate needs to be broadened to ‘enable all young people to reach their potential’.
  

Regarding the report, the Bacc for the Future campaign said:

‘Whilst we do not endorse particular proposals, we note that Lord Baker has announced a further alternative to the compulsory EBacc and encourage the Department for Education to carefully consider all options when responding to the EBacc consultation.’

The proposed broadened Baccalaureate by Lord Baker includes six subject areas including:

• English
• Maths
• Two science GCSEs, one of which could be computer science.
• A humanities GCSE from a list which would include history, geography, religious education and foreign languages.
• A creative GCSE from a list which would include art and design, music, dance and drama.
• A design and technology GCSEor an approved technical award. For example, the Cambridge National Certificate in Engineering and the Pearson BTEC First Award in Construction and the Built Environment

Notes for Editors

About the EBacc

• The government wants 90% of students to take the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) - English language, English literature, maths, at least two science GCSEs, a foreign language and either history or geography.
  
• The 1904 curriculum was remarkably similar – English, maths, science, a foreign language, history, geography, drawing.
  
• There is a risk an inflexible EBacc will disengage some children. Evidence from Germany shows a more academic curriculum resulted in an increase in disengagement and an attendance drop-off.
  
• To meet the 90% target, 225,000 will have to drop a subject and take a foreign language instead, and 136,000 will have to take either history or geography instead of a subject they prefer.
• Entries in Design and Technology have dropped by 27% since 2009/10.
• According to the Hays Global Skills Index, the skills gap in the UK has worsened by eight per cent over the past five years with businesses citing a lack of technical or vocational knowledge in graduates.
  
• The Edge Foundation proposes a new Baccalaureate for the 21st century

About Bacc for the Future

The Bacc for the Future campaign is a broad coalition of more than 200 organisations from across the creative, business and industrial sectors and over 100,000 individuals united in opposition to the Department for Education’s (DfE) EBacc proposals. Although once successful in securing a U-turn on the DfE’s EBacc plans in 2010, the campaign was stepped up again in 2015 following the announcement of the plans to implement the EBacc as a performance measure in secondary schools. To arrange an interview with a member of the Bacc for the Future team, or find out more about the campaign, please contact us at [email protected] or on 020 7313 9312.