Young people in Birmingham and West Midlands go for Creative & Media Diploma

Recent data released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families shows that learner participation in the new 14–19 Diplomas in the West Midlands is focused on the Creative & Media course so far.

The 14–19 Diploma is a new qualification which takes two years to complete. Young people can do it at school or college and it combines practical experience with class learning, and is focused on a specific vocational area.

Diplomas are being introduced on a rolling programme in four phases between September 2008 and September 2012. In September 2008 students could choose from five Diplomas:

• Information Technology
• Creative & Media
• Engineering
• Construction & the Built Environment
• Society, Health & Development

In the academic year 2008/09 there were a total of 1,046 Diploma learners in the West Midlands. This represents 9.2% of all Diploma learners in England.

Participation in a Diploma by Local Authority (2008/2009)

View image | View interactive chart | Data on Google Spreadsheets | Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families

23% of all Diplomas in the West Midlands were offered by schools and colleges in Wolverhampton and 20% in Birmingham.

Of the 208 learners in Birmingham, the majority (68%) have chosen Creative & Media, a course covering disciplines such as TV, computer games and interactive media.

The other Diplomas offered to schools and colleges in Birmingham were Construction & the Built Environment (6%) and Engineering (26%).

The largest number of learners is in Wolverhampton: 243 students, which accounts for 23% of all Diploma learners in the West Midlands.

Creative & Media is the major option (26%) here too, although the share of each Diploma course was rather evenly spread:

• 25% – Society, Health & Development
• 24% – Information Technology
• 19% – Engineering

No Diplomas have yet been offered for the academic year 2008/09 in more than a third of the sub-regions (Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire, Sandwell) but the situation may change for the next academic year 2009/10.

We’ll provide an update as soon as the statistics for the present academic year become available.

Other areas in the West Midlands

In some areas of the region other subjects were more popular.

In Stoke-on-Trent the majority (32%) have chosen Engineering, closely followed by Information Technology and Construction & the Built Environment.

In Solihull all 58 Diploma learners have chosen Information Technology.

In Coventry everyone has enrolled for an Engineering Diploma.

At a regional level Creative & Media is still the favourite option (32%) followed by Engineering (27%).

Data on Google Spreadsheets | Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families

At England’s level Creative & Media is again, by far, the most popular Diploma (68%) followed by Engineering with 41%.

Another five Diplomas were introduced for the academic year 2009/10 and there will be 17 by 2013. It will be interesting to see whether any of these can change Creative & Media’s top position.