Applied General Qualification Research

Ofqual – the qualifications and examinations regulator in England – wanted to better understand how Applied General Qualifications are viewed by those who study and teach them.

In particular, they wanted to obtain views on how well Applied General Qualifications prepare learners for higher education.

The research involved site visits to 70 educational settings (schools, colleges and universities) across England. At each setting we undertook in-depth consultations with teaching staff, admissions staff, headteachers and other senior leaders. We also facilitated focus group sessions with students undertaking (or who had undertaken) Applied General Qualifications. In total, more than 700 people were consulted for the work, making it the largest and most comprehensive research study undertaken on Applied General Qualifications to that point.

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