This section of the site lists qualifications that are approved by the Secretary of State for teaching to students under the age of 19 years in maintained schools and colleges. Each qualification is approved in accordance with its suitability for students in the following age categories: pre-16, 16-18 and 18+.
You can search for individual qualifications by: sector, subject, qualification type, Awarding Organisation. Alternatively, you can download the full list of approved qualifications using Microsoft Excel.
These webpages do not indicate whether or not individual qualifications will be included in the Key Stage 4 Performance Tables in 2014. This information is available here.
Further information on the legal basis for section 96 approval is available here.
Please note that the section 96 website should be used as a guide only and not treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law at any particular time. It is a school or college's responsibility to ensure that the qualifications it wishes to offer are approved for the age group of its students.
If you have any queries about section 96, please e-mail us at section96.mailbox@education.gsi.gov.uk
Section 96 Arrangements From May 2012
In May 2012, the Department lifted the interim arrangements for approving pre-16 qualifications. From this date, all qualifications submitted to the Department for approval for the purposes of section 96 will be considered against the following criteria:
- Accreditation by Ofqual. Only qualifications that meet Ofqual's standards are eligible for public funding and for teaching in maintained schools and colleges.
- Suitability for the age group. Account will be taken of whether the qualification is suitable for the age group in terms of maturity, social well-being and health and safety requirements.
Whilst the Secretary of State will be guided by the above criteria he retains discretion to approve or not to approve qualifications in all cases and may revoke an approval given by him.
