Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to including Design and Technology as a science option within the English Baccalaureate.

Lord Nash

Design and Technology (D&T) is a subject that can inspire and equip young people for further study and careers in a range of design and engineering fields. Our reforms to the D&T curriculum and qualifications move the subject on from its craft-based routes to be aligned with high-tech industry practice.

The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for pupils to study other subjects of their choice. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils. As the EBacc covers up to eight GCSEs, this leaves room for other choices, including D&T.