Episode 5 - Defunded Not Derailed: Mixed Study Programmes for 2026, A Recap & What the Future Holds

Episode 5 - Defunded Not Derailed: Mixed Study Programmes for 2026, A Recap & What the Future Holds

About This Event

Episode Date: Thursday 30th April 2026

After five episodes exploring the practical realities of qualification reform, Defunded, Not Derailed closes with a step back. What have we learned? What do we now know with greater certainty? And what happens next?

In this final episode, we bring the threads together. From the defunding of existing qualifications to the rollout of AAQs and the confirmation of V Levels, the post 16 landscape has shifted significantly over the past year. Episode Six reflects on how the system is evolving, what the emerging Level 3 picture looks like in practice, and what colleges, awarding organisations and sector bodies should be focusing on as reform moves from planning into implementation.

Gavin O'Meara is joined by Paul Steer, Director of Policy at Cambridge OCR, and Nina Chorzelewski from the Association of Colleges, to look ahead at the next two to three years. How will A Levels, T Levels, AAQs and V Levels coexist? Are mixed study programmes becoming the long term model? And what unintended consequences should the sector be watching for?

Defunded Not Derailed was produced by FE News in partnership with Cambridge OCR.

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