Labour heeds UCU's call to keep BTECs

The union was responding to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson's announcement to Parliament.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'We are delighted Labour has heeded our call to keep BTECs, putting on hold Tory plans to close off this key route into higher education for working-class students. This decision means students will not have their post-16 options needlessly restricted.

'BTECs are especially important for widening participation, as Black and Asian students are more likely to use them to get to university. Educators will now be able to contribute fully to the review, which we hope will recommend that colleges keep their existing BTEC provision and build upon it, rather than scrapping these crucial qualifications.'