What should we do about the “forgotten third”?
In a previous article, I argued that the government’s plan for more vocational education at 14 was not a good one.
I’ve had a lot of positive responses to that article. In particular, a lot of people accepted my point that vocational education in this country often conflates two groups of students: the 10-15% of students with an interest and aptitude in technical education, and the 30-40% who struggle to get grade 4+ GCSEs in English and maths.
However, there was also one persistent question, along the following lines.
“OK, fair enough, I take your point about vocational at 14 not being a silver bullet for struggling students. BUT then what is the answer? We have such a problem with disengaged 14-16 year olds who have a terrible time of it in school. About 30-40% don’t get grade 4+ GCSE in English and maths – the so-called “forgotten third”. Also, we have so many NEETs who are clearly leaving school without the skills they need for the next step in life. What are we supposed to do about this problem? Are you seriously saying we should just carry on as we are?”
In this post I will attempt to answer that question, with the focus being on 11-16 school policy (not post-16 or university).
Before I do that, I will repeat and emphasise two points I made in my previous post.
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