Post-16 Education and Training

Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

Annual data for 2017 showed that 3.64% of young people aged 16-17 were not in education, employment or training (NEET). This was higher than the England average (2.71%).

Apprenticeships

The number of Higher apprenticeship starts rose from 250 last year to 330 in 2017/18. Total starts, however, fell markedly - down 32%. Starts were also down across the region (down 27%) and across England (down 24%). In Wakefield, the biggest reduction (52%) has been in Intermediate starts - the lowest level of apprenticeship. Advanced level starts fell by 12%. By age, under 19 starts fell by 11%; 19 to 24 starts fell by 29%; and 25+ starts fell by 42%.

Apprenticeships span a wide range of subjects, with 35% of starts being in the business, administration and law sector (see table below).

A Levels

There are no official A Level participation rates published, but crude rates can be calculated using exam entrant numbers. Accordingly, 31% of Wakefield’s 18 –year-olds took at least one A Level in 2018, compared to 36% across England as a whole. Of the 1,151 students entered for an A Level or Applied A Level in 2018, 458 were male and 693 were female. This gender bias is more pronounced in Wakefield than it is across England as a whole.

Results for 2018 show the average points score per A Level entry (30.8) was slightly lower than the England average (33.3) (all schools, not just state funded), while only 12.9% of pupils achieved AAB grades or better, compared to 21.1% across England as a whole.

English is the A-Level subject studied most often in Wakefield, followed by art and design and maths. Art and design and law make up a higher proportion of total Wakefield entries than is seen across England as a whole (see table below). In 2018, 29% of A level entries were in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths), up from 27% the previous year. Across England as a whole 34% of entries were in STEM subjects.