Top grade in new technical qualifications will be on par with three A*s at A-level

'T-levels will be as stretching as academic equivalents,' government insists

Campaigners warn young women are being pushed into lower quality and less well-paid apprenticeships which have fewer opportunities to progress and carry on earning less than male counterparts for years after completing their apprenticeship

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Students who secure the top grade in the government’s new flagship technical qualification will be on par with peers who secure three A*s at A-level, it has been confirmed.

Learners who complete a T-level programme with a starred distinction will be allocated the same amount of Ucas points as students pursuing the more traditional qualification.

The move comes after a number of top universities said they planned to reject the government’s new technical qualifications – which are intended to have an equal status to A-levels.

T-level's which take two years to complete are being introduced in England next September.

Last year, former education secretary Damian Hinds said students who took them would receive the same Ucas points as someone studying three A-levels.

In a speech to businesses leaders in December he called on Britain to drop its “snobby” attitude to technical education or risk being left behind.

He said: “I want T-level students to be able to go to university to do relevant technical degrees.”

Now the Department for Education (DfE) has announced that a distinction in one T-level will carry the same number of points as three A grades at A-level. A merit will be the equivalent of three Bs.

A pass meanwhile, will carry the same points as either three Cs or three Ds, depending on the student's performance in the core component of the qualification.

Ucas tariff points are used by universities when making offers to students. A university may ask an applicant to achieve a certain amount of points in their exams in order to obtain a degree place.

Around a third of courses list their entry requirements in tariff points, according to the admissions service. The majority list specific qualifications and grades required.

The first T-level courses, in education, digital studies and construction, will be taught in further education and post-16 providers from next year.

The qualifications will include a work placement of at least 315 hours, as well as classroom study.

A Universities UK (UUK) spokesperson said: "Awarding Ucas points to T-levels is an important first step in opening up possibilities for T-level students. University admissions officers are working with government to ensure that students who take T-levels have a range of opportunities available to them.

"It is for individual universities to decide which students they admit for each course and the qualifications they will need."

A DfE spokesperson said: "T-levels will be the gold standard technical course of choice for young people post-16 and will carry Ucas points equivalent to three of our world-class A-levels. This means young people, parents and employers can be confident T-levels will be just as stretching as their academic equivalents, and will offer students the option of progressing to the next level, whether that is a job, higher technical training, a degree or an apprenticeship."