§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost of(a) a GCSE, (b) an intermediate GNVQ, (c) an AS-level and (d) an NVQ 1537W level-2 or equivalent vocational qualification are; and how many people achieved each of these qualifications in 2003. [172978]
§ Mr. Miliband[holding answer 13 May 2004]: The cost of examination entry is set by the independent awarding bodies. The typical cost of entry and the number of people achieving (a) GCSEs, (b) GNVQs and (c) AS levels in 2003 is as follows:
Qualification Typical cost of entry1 (£)
Number of candidates achieving qualification2
(a) GCSE Full 21.00 682,828 Short Course 14.50 275,841 (b) Intermediate GNVQ 48,842 Part 1 Full 79.00 45,550 (c) GCE AS level 33 (11 per unit) 315,357 1 Typical cost of entry is based on entry through Edexcel. These figures have been taken from information provided on the Edexcel website. 2 Information on candidates attempting GCSEs, GNVQs and AS levels in 2003 is taken from information collated for the 2003 Performance Tables. Using the most recent data available the number of level 2 NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) and OVQs (Other Vocational Qualifications) achieved in 2002 are shown in the following table.
Qualification Typical cost of entry1 (£)
Number of qualifications
achieved2
(d) NVQ Level 2 84.00 177,115 OVQ Level 2 3— 98,307 1 Typical cost of entry is based on entry through Edexcel. These figures have been taken from information provided on the Edexcel website. 2 Information on candidates attempting GCSEs, GNVQs and AS levels in 2003 is taken from information collated for the 2003 Performance Table 3 For OVQs the cost is not shown as this would be dependant upon the exact qualification.