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2008 Issues Archive
26 November 2008
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Number of diploma students falls well short of official target
The number of students studying for the engineering diploma has fallen far short of the government’s target figure, it has been revealed.
The five new diplomas for 14- to 19-year-olds, including engineering, saw nearly 38,000 fewer students enrol in September than the government first predicted.
Around 2,720 students are taking the engineering diploma, out of a total of fewer than 12,000 signed up to all the diplomas, with some schools having attracted as few as nine students for the course.
Ministers originally set a target of 50,000 diploma students, and then lowered the numbers expected to 38,000 in July. But after 20,000 students signed up to study diplomas in the summer, only 12,000 actually started the courses in September.
However, Graham Lane, chair of the Engineering Diploma Partnership, said he was happy with the figures and that the government’s targets were overblown.
He said: “The figures were just plucked out of the air. We told them that they were far too high. Students get worried about starting a new qualification and, during the summer, a lot change their minds. We have done as well as we expected.”
Engineering is the second most popular subject out of all the diplomas, just missing the top spot, which is taken by creative media.
Lane added that the reason some schools have not seen high numbers of students is because there are not many big local engineering firms involved with them, to provide work experience.
While schools working with big companies, such as Rolls-Royce, have seen high numbers, schools associated with less well-known companies have suffered. Lane and his team are working to get more firms involved next year.
Around 500 more schools are now looking to sign up to start the diploma in 2010.
Universities are interested in accepting the qualification for entry to undergraduate engineering courses, with both Cambridge and Oxford considering accepting it.
Mike Nicholson, head of undergraduate admissions at Oxford University, said: “We welcome engineering candidates with a wide range of qualifications and see the value in considering those studying the advanced diploma in this subject.”
© PE Publishing, 26 November 2008
