What can England learn about vocational and technical pathways from other countries?

A big shift in the way secondary education works in England could be coming, after our new prime minister announced 14-year-olds will have more access to technical education routes.

It’s not yet clear exactly how Andy Burnham’s vision might be brought to life, but newly published comparative research from the Centre for Education Systems (CES) shows that a distinct vocational track at the age of 14 would make England an international outlier.

Across a sample of 15 countries, CES found that the typical approach was to have a common curriculum up to the age of 15-16, leading to one form of terminal assessment.

Just like in England currently, most countries hold off on offering any significant vocational pathway until upper secondary level, often due to a reluctance to close off future options.

France and the Netherlands are the standouts, and they provide significant lessons for England.

Flat country, uneven landscape

Dutch 12-year-olds sit a placement test, which is combined with teacher recommendations to determine their secondary school placement. This results in students entering one of three tracks: prevocational education, general education or pre-university education. It’s a system with many similarities to England’s old 11-plus examination.

Around half of Dutch students attend prevocational education and, within this track, there are four options. At one end of the spectrum is a highly practical route, whereas at the other is an option that still requires students to take a menu of largely “academic” subjects, combined with some vocational training and work placements. Each option is associated with a distinct assessment at the age of 16.

This approach has faced something of a reckoning in recent years. In 2021, the Dutch Education Council published a report calling for the educational “branching-point” to be moved to the age of 15, with all students studying a broad, common curriculum until that point.

That position built on growing evidence that early sorting into vocational routes beds in socioeconomic disadvantage and restricts - rather than opens up - opportunities.

The Dutch government is currently reviewing the organisation of secondary education, with proposals for change expected in 2027.

France’s alternative pathway

As a result of 1977 reforms in France, all students attend a comprehensive secondary school until the age of 15, where previously they had diverged from the end of primary school.

However, there is an alternative assessment pathway within France’s comprehensive system: a small minority of students enter a ”pre-vocational class” in their final year of secondary school.

Students in this class continue to study core subjects such as French, maths and two foreign languages - alongside vocational education and workforce placements.

Pre-vocational students do not complete the standard lower secondary assessment, known as the diplôme national du brevet (DNB). Instead, they enter a distinct “professional series” of the DNB - based on different exams adapted to the vocational curriculum.

Many students with special educational needs or disabilities are directed towards this “professional series”, but it remains a minority pursuit. Only around one in 10 students nationally participate in this alternative assessment programme.

Despite its modest scale, the “professional series” DNB has not been able to dodge the challenge that’s often associated with pathways: the risk of segregation.

A major French government report concluded that working-class students, boys and young people from migrant backgrounds were more likely to end up on a vocational pathway, even when they entered lower secondary with the same prior attainment as other students.

What can England learn from these examples?

CES’s new report shows that offering appropriate differentiation without segregation is a fundamental challenge for countries around the world. However, it also shows that there are numerous options on offer.

Students in England are unusual in facing such a high volume of high-stakes, exam-based, academic assessments at lower secondary level. This is partly a consequence of the extreme specialisation that takes place at 16, in contrast to the milder gear-shift that takes place at 15 in many other systems.

England’s particular combination of policy arrangements could be crowding out the opportunities Burnham is famous for championing at lower secondary level, as part of his so-called “MBacc”. These include broader curricular experiences, exposure to vocational pathways and connections with local employers.

Other countries have cut the cake differently. Finland only uses school-based assessment at lower secondary level, holding off on high-stakes examinations until students are 18. This leaves space for work experience and exposure to vocational routes at lower secondary, without needing to separate students off onto distinct “tracks”.

Meanwhile, in the solidly high-performing Republic of Ireland, all students study a broad curriculum entitlement until the end of lower secondary education.

Young people can then opt for a “transition year” before moving on to upper secondary education. Almost 80 per cent of students take this path, which allows them to participate in work experience and complete an independent project, before they commit to a post-16 option.

The future in England

Many jurisdictions offer vocational and technical options at lower secondary level, and England’s 14-year-olds deserve a higher quality and more substantive menu, too.

The challenge is to provide these without locking in disadvantage, and without undermining the comprehensive principles that are becoming increasingly core to lower secondary education systems around the world.

Burnham’s reforming zeal could be a huge opportunity for England’s education system, but will require alignment between curriculum, assessment and workforce policy in service of a clear vision for education that maintains broad, enriching entitlements for all.

Loic Menzies is chief research officer and Taylor Hughson is senior research associate at the Centre for Education Systems