What are T-levels and what are the grades worth?

The number of students taking T-levels has increased each year, and there were 16,085 entrants in the 2023-24 academic year.

The overall pass rate for the 7,262 students who received grades in July 2024 was 88.7%, down from 90.5% in 2023.

But many T-level students do not complete their course. Retention rates for most A-levels and other equivalent qualifications are consistently above 90%.

In comparison, only 71% of the 10,253 students who started a T-level in 2022 finished the two-year programme.

The dropout rate of first-year health and science T-level students was even higher at 31%, according to a report from the Education Policy Institute.

It said nearly half of those students end up leaving education altogether.

A third of students failed to finish legal, finance and accounting courses.

As well as problems with the range of available subjects, there have also been issues with the quality of teaching.

In July 2024, the exams watchdog Ofqual fined the NCFE exam board £300,000 over “major failings” with papers sat by 1,200 health and science T-level students in 2022.