§ Mr. Damian GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students left the A-level system one year into the course in each academic year since that ending in 1997. [79071]
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§ Mr. MilibandCurrently the only source of individual level data that allows the tracking of young people following the A level route is the Youth Cohort Study (YCS). The latest estimates from the YCS show that 9 per cent. of young people studying A levels in year 12 in spring 2000, were no longer studying them in winter 2000–01 (year 13). Comparable data on A level students in the years 1997–99 are not available.
The Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC) was introduced in 2002 for maintained schools in England. PLASC will be able to provide information on the number of students in school sixth forms who leave the A level system after a single year of study from 2003 onwards.