Written question asked by Patrick Nicholls (Conservative) on Wednesday, 28 February 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 March 2001. It was answered by Malcolm Wicks (Labour) on Monday, 12 March 2001 on behalf of the Department for Education and Employment.

Dept for Education and Employment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what estimate he has made of the number of A level students working to fund their studies; what assessment he has made of the effects that this has had on their results; and if he will make a statement. - Including figures.

Answer: Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of A-level students working to fund their studies; what assessment he has made of the effects that this has had on their results; and if he will make a statement. [152095] Mr. Wicks: According to the Youth Cohort Study, 53 per cent. of 16-18-year-old A-level students, in full-time education, were also in some form of employment. They worked an average of 10 hours per week. Research evidence indicates that young people choose to undertake part-time work for a variety of reasons: not solely to finance their studies. I am not aware of studies specifically looking at the effects of paid work on the results of A-level students. However, the evaluation of the first year of Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) found that young people, in EMA pilot and control areas, who worked in Year 11 achieved better exam results than those that did not. Subsequent stages of the EMA evaluation should throw further light on this issue.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 364 c445W; 152095
Session: 2000-01
Subjects: Employment Finance Qualifications Pupils Part-time employment Standards Sixth form education GCE A-level
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk