§ Mr. NichollsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of A-level students working to fund their studies; what assessment he has made of the effects that this has had on their results; and if he will make a statement. [152095]
§ Mr. WicksAccording to the Youth Cohort Study, 53 per cent. of 16–18-year-old-level students, in full-time education, were also in some form of employment. They worked an average of 10 hours per week. Research evidence indicates that young people choose to undertake part-time work for a variety of reasons: not solely to finance their studies.
I am not aware of studies specifically looking at the effects of paid work on the results of A-level students. However, the evaluation of the first year of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) found that young people, in EMA pilot and control areas, who worked in Year 11 achieved better exam results than those that did not. Subsequent stages of the EMA evaluation should throw further light on this issue.