§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what studies he has(a) commissioned and (b) considered in connection with the equivalence between GNVQs Intermediate and Advanced qualifications and their GCE counterparts. [97491]
§ Mr. Wicks[holding answer 8 November 1999]: No specific studies have been carried out. However, evidence from both school and college inspections carried out by Ofsted and the Further Education Funding Council and from work undertaken by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) confirms that GNVQ standards are broadly comparable with standards at equivalent levels of GCSE and A level. The revised GNVQ assessment regime due to be introduced from September 2000 will reinforce that equivalence by strengthening the rigour of the GNVQ at all levels.