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Directors attend T Level debate in parliament

September 26, 2018

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Directors from Havant & South Downs College took park in the great debate on the implementation of T Levels at the House of Commons.

More than 200 figures from the Further Education sector gathered in parliament on Monday 10 September to discuss the motion: This house believes the T Level reform implementation timeframe is ambitious but not reckless.

HSDC Directors, Lee Hunt and Ashley Grute, attended the debate, which was hosted by Robert Halfon, Chair of the education select committee and facilitated by Shane Mann, Managing Director of FE Week’s publisher LSECT.

Speaking for the motion was Catherine Sezen, the Association of Colleges (AOC) Senior Policy Manager for 14 to 19 and curriculum, while FE Week editor Nick Linford argued against it.

Director Lee Hunt was one of the few siding with the motion that the T Level timeframe is ‘ambitious’, not ‘reckless’.

Speaking about the debate, Lee said: “There’s a real uncertainty around T Levels, and a real nervousness around it. People are leaning more to the ‘reckless’ side of the argument, But all it is is a change.

“A Levels were introduced in 1954, BTECs were introduced in 1988 and GCSEs were introduced in the early 1990s. Here we are in 2018 – it is an evolution. Our economy is changing, our community is changing. We are in the digital age.

“We don’t wear the same shoes every day for the rest our lives. Not everything is fit for purpose forever. The curriculum is adapting to meet the needs of the economy.”

The majority of the audience began the debate ‘undecided’ on the motion, but after a two-hour discussion more audience members sided against the motion than for, although many remained on the fence.

Read more about T Levels at Havant & South Downs College.