91. Every state-funded school must offer a broad and balanced curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils, and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. The Government wants pupils to leave school prepared, in the widest sense, for adult life and the acquisition of knowledge is the basic building block of education to which all pupils should have fair access. 92. Central to raising standards has been ensuring that all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have access to the ‘best that has been thought and said’, as part of their cultural inheritance. This has meant overhauling the so- called skills- or competence-based national curriculum, replacing it with one that makes sure children are taught the essential building blocks of knowledge, providing them with the understanding they need to participate fully in society. 93. The national curriculum reforms focused on restoring knowledge to the heart of the curriculum. Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit from a knowledge-rich approach for two main reasons. Firstly, securing domain-specific knowledge is essential to learning. Pupils start school with differing levels of knowledge depending on their background, meaning those with greater levels of prior knowledge learn more easily than those with limited prior knowledge, and therefore the gap between these two groups widens. Secondly, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to access ‘communal knowledge’ or the ‘cultural commons of the nation’ at home. It is, therefore, important that schools make sure that all pupils have access to this through the delivery of an effectively sequenced knowledge-rich curriculum. 94. The EBacc (English Baccalaureate) subject pillars are English, maths, history or geography, the sciences and a language. This covers seven GCSEs if pupils take combined science, and eight GCSEs if they take triple science. To achieve the EBacc pupils must get a grade 9 to 4 (A* to C equivalent) in each pillar. The proportion of all pupils in state-funded schools that entered the EBacc rose from 21.8% in 2010 to 40.0% in 2019; those that achieved it rose from 15.1% to 24.9% in the same period. The Government’s ambition is to make progress towards 90% of year 10 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools studying EBacc GCSEs by September 2025 (examination in 2027). 95. We have five headline measures of secondary school accountability designed to encourage schools to teach a broad and balanced curriculum with a focus on a strong academic core. Two of these measures, Progress 8 and Attainment 8, allow scope for pupils to pursue their personal interests, by counting up to three further “open” subjects, alongside English and maths and three EBacc subjects. These “open” subjects can be GCSE qualifications (including additional EBacc subjects) or Technical Awards from the DfE approved list. 96. Key to giving all children the same chance to succeed through education is ensuring that they can study core academic subjects at GCSE – English, maths, science, history or geography and a language that make up the EBacc. From 2011 to 2020, there was a 19.2 percentage point rise in the proportion of disadvantaged pupils in state-funded mainstream schools entering the EBacc. The equivalent figure for non-disadvantaged pupils during that period is 18.3. 97. Part of the reason why lower socio-economic groups are underrepresented at high status universities, is differences in subject choice at A level. Evidence suggests that these gaps can be closed by reducing differences in attainment and subject choice at GCSE. DfE research from January 2019 shows over 9 in 10 Oxbridge students entered a GCSE in languages which form part of the EBacc, with more than 75% entering both languages and humanities. These pupils studied a broad and balanced curriculum before going on to highly selective universities. 98. A study by the UCL Institute of Education shows that studying subjects included in the EBacc provides pupils with greater opportunities in further education and increases the likelihood that a pupil will stay on in full-time education. Sutton Trust research from 2016 suggested that 300 schools which had increased EBacc take-up were more likely to achieve good GCSEs in mathematics and English, with Pupil Premium pupils benefitting the most. 99. The Government believes it is important to ensure that young people have the knowledge they need to succeed. We reformed GCSEs as a response to concerns being raised by employers and higher and further education institutions that GCSEs did not adequately prepare young people for the demands of the workplace and higher study. 100. The reformed GCSEs rigorously assess the knowledge acquired by pupils during Key Stage 4 and are in line with expected standards in countries with high- performing education systems. We created more linear exams, ending modularisation, so that less time would be spent on preparing for module re-sits and more time on teaching and holistic learning. There are no plans to change the current system for A levels and GCSEs and the Government remains clear that exams are the fairest method by which to assess students. 101. We need to remove the barriers that stop people from being the best they can be, and ensure that all children are given the same chances through education to succeed. We recognise that there will be a minority of pupils for whom taking all the EBacc subjects at GCSE will not be appropriate, and it is for schools to decide which pupils this applies to and what alternative curriculum options for them should be. 102. Key stage 4 (KS4) students (14 to 16 year olds) can choose from a variety of appropriate qualifications, including GCSEs and Technical Awards, and build a programme of study that provides them with a comprehensive and respected general education. With a focus on practical and technical subjects, Technical Awards offer 14 to 16 year olds an opportunity to gain skills and knowledge not usually acquired through general qualifications. There are Technical Awards in a range of subjects, from engineering and information technology to catering or automotive maintenance. 103. In September 2020, the Department announced the launch of a new approvals process for Technical Awards to improve the quality of non-GCSE qualifications at KS4. Only those technical qualifications that meet stretching requirements and that have been reviewed by Ofqual and approved by the Department, will be recognised in the 2024 KS4 performance tables alongside academic qualifications. 104. The introduction of T Levels for 16-19 year olds will boost access to high quality technical education for thousands of young people, providing a real and attractive alternative to A levels. Designed by employers and including a 9 week industry placement, T Levels will help more young people from all backgrounds to access skilled work. All students who take T Levels will undertake a 9 week industry placement, helping them to gain employability skills and develop the confidence they need in a workplace environment. The first three T Levels were introduced in September 2020 (in 43 providers with a cohort of around 1,300 students) and feedback from both providers and students has been positive. 105. We are also working closely with the first T Level providers to develop a T Level Transition Programme, for students who are not ready to start a T Level but have the potential to progress onto one following a tailored preparation programme. This will allow more young people to successfully compete a T Level.