Award from 2015
Legacy structure and requirements
The legacy Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification, which was last awarded in 2016, consists of two parts – a compulsory Core and a choice of Options, which are made up of optional subjects or qualifications which the student may be following. Together, the Core and Options make up the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification. Options are the courses/programmes currently studied by the student alongside the Core e.g. General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), Advanced Subsidiary/Advanced (AS / A levels), BTec, Principal Learning. The Options requirements depend on the level of the Welsh Baccalaureate being followed. The Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma attracts 120 UCAS (university entry) points, the same as an A grade in an A Level subject. The awarding organisation for the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification is WJEC. The structure of the Welsh Baccalaureate Core is the same at all three levels and consists of: *Essential Skills Wales/Key Skills qualifications (Exact requirements depend on the level followed) *Wales, Europe and the World (WEW) *Personal and Social Education (PSE) *Work-related Education (WRE)- work experience and a team enterprise activity *Community Participation *Language Module *Individual Investigation (Exact requirements depend on the level followed)Developments
The Welsh Baccalaureate began in September 2003 as a pilot scheme involving 18 schools and colleges in Wales. The qualification was rolled out to centres across Wales in September 2007. By September 2012, 75,000 learners in 240 schools, colleges and work based learning centres were registered for the Welsh Baccalaureate courses. The Welsh Bac has become a familiar part of the educational landscape in Wales with all colleges and only a small minority of schools not delivering at least one level of the qualification.Review of Qualifications for 14- to 19-year-olds in Wales
In the Review of Qualifications consultation document, published on 31 May 2012, the Review Board considered that the Welsh Bac was making an important contribution to the education of over 73,000 learners in Wales. The consultation document noted that 'The Board is currently of the view that the Welsh Baccalaureate has both relevance and value, that it should be further developed and promoted, and that eventually it should be universally adopted at 14–19 across Wales. The consultation went on to say "Feedback to the Review has been largely positive about the Welsh Baccalaureate. Stakeholders like its use of established qualifications in its options, the development of skills (including testing aspects of literacy and numeracy) in its Core, together with elements valued by employers and universities such as work experience, community participation and independent research."Grading
The Qualifications Review Board has proposed that the Welsh Baccalaureate should be graded at the Advanced level to maintain its currency for higher education admission and to ensure that learners' differing achievements are properly recognised. The Review Board indicated that further views would be canvassed about whether the Intermediate and Foundation levels should be graded.Current levels of achievement
Figures released by the awarding organisation WJEC in August 2012 reported that a total of 8,259 candidates were awarded the Advanced Diploma, compared with 6,948 in 2011, the highest entry to date for this qualification. This represented 83% of those who completed the course. The successful candidates achieved at least two A levels or equivalent academic or vocational qualifications, as well as meeting the requirements of the Welsh Baccalaureate Core, including gaining Essential Skills Wales (ESW, and Key Skills (KS) and personal development modules. Having met the full range of requirements of the Core components, 8,747 or 88% of the candidates who completed the course achieved the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Core Certificate. In 2012, a record 7,210 or 73% of candidates achieved the Welsh Baccalaureate Intermediate Diploma, compared with 67% in 2011. The number of candidates completing the programme also rose to 9,940, an increase of 3,937 or 66% on 2011. A further 990 candidates achieved the Welsh Baccalaureate Core Certificate. At Foundation level, 3,521 candidates completed the programme, an increase of 23% compared with 2,858 last year. Of these, 2,236 or 64% achieved the Foundation Diploma, compared with 1,873 or 66% last year. A further 279 candidates achieved the Core Certificate at the Foundation level.Research and evaluation
Academic research
Research on the Welsh Baccalaureate has been generally positive. The University of Bath were the internal evaluators and produced a number of reports evaluating the development of the Welsh Baccalaureate. A Final Report of the External Evaluation of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ) Pilot was also carried out by the University of Nottingham. Both internal and external evaluations were largely positive, emphasising the positive impact of the Welsh Bac in broadening the learner experience. Estyn reports on the Advanced Level (2012) and the Welsh Bac in Key Stage 4 in schools (2008, were generally positive about the impact of the qualification, although there were some concerns about the differences in quality of delivery in Welsh Bac centres. In 2009, the Nuffield Foundation funded a Review of 14–19 Education and Training in which the Welsh Bac was praised. The report calls for a baccalaureate system for secondary schools; asks why many young people drop out of education and training in their late teens; and offers contrasts between England's approach to school reform and that which has operated in Wales since Devolution. Among the Review's recommendations was that "England should learn from the Welsh attempts to incorporate in its 'Learning Pathways' a broader and more flexible vision of progression." The Review supports the continued development of the Welsh Baccalaureate so that it becomes the organising framework for all 14 – 19 learners in Wales. The current affairs programme 'Dragon's Eye' broadcast 1 May 2012, reported on work published by Chris Taylor and colleagues at Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD) based at Cardiff University. Taylor's work suggested that the performance of Welsh Bac qualified students did not match their apparent A level points score. One explanation is that since the Welsh Bac is ungraded, students who pass it cover a wide range of abilities and ability is known to be a strong predictor of success at university. Taylor commented "This suggests that the WBQ would benefit from being graded." He added "Our findings also raise a concern about the overall quality of the WBQ and whether there are any apparent benefits of this qualification on university progress and outcomes." The conclusions in the Report were however qualified by a recognition of the limitations of the analysis. Taylor added "We would not want to argue that the WBQ is systematically worth less than an A grade at A Level. And indeed, rejecting the use of the WBQ in helping to determine entry and conditional offers ignores the 'opportunity cost' for a student of not having taken another qualification or A Level." Following the publication of the Report, Cardiff University clarified their position regarding Welsh Baccalaureate applicants. The 2012–13 prospectus states that "Cardiff University accepts the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma for admission to all its undergraduate degree programmes. If you are taking the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma, and the University decides to make you an offer for study on any of its programme, the offer will be based on a pass in the Core plus specified grades and subjects, where applicable, in the Options." In 2004, UCAS confirmed that the Advanced Level would attract 120 UCAS points. The 2009 Expert Group Report for Review of Award in the UCAS Tariff confirmed the award of 120 UCAS tariff points for the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma. In 2018, Welsh exams watchdog Qualifications Wales said the skills at the heart of the qualification were highly relevant for future study and employment, but that the Welsh Baccalaureate is too complex and a number of pupils, teachers and parents do not understand it.Debate
In 2002, Colin Jenkins and John David, who developed the original Welsh Baccalaureate proposal for theSee also
*References
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