Baccalaureate drop out rate tops 50%

More than half the students who started a pilot baccalaureate course have dropped out before taking the exams, it was revealed today.

While 700 pupils enrolled in the course, currently being piloted in Wales, two years ago, only 300 completed the full course this year, figures obtained by BBC Wales have shown.

The Welsh baccalaureate was endorsed by the Universities and Colleges Admission Services (Ucas) last year, making the advanced level of the exam the equivalent of an A grade at A-Level.

The assembly has diverted £4m worth of funding to the qualification, which has two levels: intermediate and advanced. This is the first year that students will be receiving grades at the advanced level of the course.

It includes a core syllabus covering key skills, such as maths and languages, and a module studying Wales, Europe and the world. In addition students can get credit for work experience or voluntary work. Students study for the baccalaureate alongside GCSEs, A-levels or other qualifications, such as BTECs, depending on their level.

The chief executive of the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC), which is responsible for the implementation of the exams, Gareth Pierce, said it would not be releasing drop-out rates ahead of the announcement of results on Thursday.

But WJEC project director, Keith Davies, told BBC Wales: "The demands were higher than the students first felt, I think. They thought this was an easy way of getting 120 Ucas points, it has proved not to be the case."

An assembly spokesperson said it would be a "nonsense" to say that students who had not completed the course had "failed".

"Some students may have decided to complete only some of the key skills qualifications and so would not have been formally entered for the bac. This is not a 'failure' - they have still gained extremely valuable skills and experience and the feedback we have received shows that they found studying both enjoyable and rewarding.

"We have commissioned an external, independent evaluation of the pilot and this will help us to address these matters."

Heledd Hayes, education officer for National Union of Teachers Cymru, said it was important that the baccalaureate did not fall at the first hurdle. She said: "We hope that it is just a hiccup. We have to consider this seriously and see what can be done but the whole ethos of the Welsh bac' is too important to be lost."

She said that feedback from staff and some students had indicated that the workload was manageable. But she said that as students neared exam time some would decide to concentrate on three A-levels rather than risk getting lower grades in order to spend time on the baccalaureate.

"Young people coming to university could have very good A-levels but they could be very narrow. The Welsh bac' provides a broadly-based and balanced education. For example, everybody who does it has to complete some vocational experience, which is so important."