Education and Skills (14 to 19)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:32 pm on 23 February 2005.

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Photo of Ruth Kelly Ruth Kelly Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills 12:32, 23 February 2005

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that we must continue to raise standards in our schools and colleges, but also raise the ambitions and aspirations of all our young people. That is what my proposals set out to do—and yes, we should have diplomas designed by employers and leading directly to university foundation degrees.

It may become much easier for young people to go to university when they have qualifications that are recognised by employers and the university system. That is how to achieve parity of esteem between the academic and vocational.