5 Diplomas: it needn’t have been this way

The slow and creaky start to the new educational diploma system is now being reported http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/24/diplomas-qca and http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/26/school-diplomas-teachers which quotes findings from a survey commissioned by the Sutton Trust. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7847813.stm I remain convinced that diploma credibility was, as a minimum, always dependent on level 3 diplomas replacing A levels. Without that, the diplomas were always doomed to be seen as the less good, vocational alternative, to proper academic qualifications.