Statement on the Welsh Baccalaureate

The Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning (Jane Davidson): I am delighted to be able to tell Members that the Welsh baccalaureate qualification has been formally recognised by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. The UCAS board has decided to allocate 120 tariff points to the Welsh baccalaureate core. This means that students who successfully complete the Welsh baccalaureate at advanced level will have the equivalent UCAS points score of an ‘A’ grade A-level, in addition to the points that they earn from their optional studies.

Within the baccalaureate programme, students will continue to take existing general and vocational qualifications, but all students will also follow the core programme, which comprises: ‘Wales, Europe and the World’—a study of political, social, cultural and economic issues; a modern foreign language module; an extended individual project; key skills; personal and social education, including a period of community participation, and work-related education, including a period of work experience.

This is excellent news for the Welsh baccalaureate, for the pilot centres and for students. I have always emphasised the importance that I attach to this development and the pride that we in Wales should take in it. UCAS’s decision underlines this.

Everyone who has been involved in the development of the Welsh baccalaureate knows that the decision made by the UCAS board is no less than the Welsh baccalaureate deserves. However, it means that the baccalaureate will now have hard currency in terms of university admissions. Universities set their own entry criteria, but many use the UCAS tariff in setting entry requirements, and it establishes agreed equivalencies between different types of qualifications.

To successfully complete the Welsh baccalaureate, students must pass a core certificate, which guarantees breadth and a common core of studies for all students, and a minimum requirement in optional studies. At advanced level the minimum requirement is the core and 2 GCE advanced level passes, or the equivalent.

From the outset, I have made clear that the Welsh baccalaureate would need to protect the interest of students. The core and options model developed by the WJEC does that by using traditional qualifications in the optional studies. The fact that the core will now have the same UCAS currency as a top grade A-level adds to that and clearly flags-up what we have always known, namely that this is a high-quality qualification. The decision represents a major boost for all the pilot centres and students.

I would like to thank the centres piloting the Welsh baccalaureate qualification from September 2003, spanning Wales and representing a variety of types of centres. The 18 centres which form the first cohort are: Barry Comprehensive School; Builth Wells High School; Cardinal Newman RC School; Coleg Glan Hafren; Coleg Gwent; Coleg Llandrillo; Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor; Coleg Powys; Coleg Sir Gâr; Deeside College; Neath Port Talbot College; Pen-y-dre High School; Pontypridd College; Porth County Community School; St Albans RC High School; St Cyres School; St David’s Catholic College; and Swansea Tertiary College. In addition, Willows High School and Llanedeyrn High School will be delivering the Welsh baccalaureate as part of the Cardiff Collegium with Coleg Glan Hafren.

UCAS’s decision will also be a boost for the centres that will embark on the pilot in September next year and in 2005. In June, I was pleased to announce the six centres that will form the second cohort of the pilot next year. The six centres—Ysgol Bryn Elian, Ysgol Brynhyfryd, Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr, Pembrokeshire College and Coleg Menai—will have a full year of preparation before their first students commence studying for the Welsh baccalaureate in September 2004.

The six second cohort centres include four Welsh-medium or bilingual centres and four north Wales centres. They will further enhance the linguistic mix and geographical spread of pilot centres. As I have always said, I want the Welsh baccalaureate to work in all types of centres from Merthyr Tydfil to Colwyn Bay. This will help to ensure that the pilot is able to test the Welsh baccalaureate qualification in such a range of centres.
I congratulate the WJEC. UCAS’s decision is recognition of its achievement so far and I can assure it, the pilot centres and students that they will have my full support as they take forward this vital project, which sees Wales at the leading edge of qualifications development. I am sure that Members will want to do likewise.