Report into reasonableness of qualifications fees

The report follows work by QCA in 2006 to study fees charged for A levels and GCSEs.

Alongside the report Ofqual has published its own conclusions based on this study. These include;

• the fees charged for the qualifications selected for this study have increased by just a little more than inflation over a number of years;
• many awarding organisations do not structure their accounts in a way that enables direct comparison between fees and costs for single qualifications; and
• further work needs to be done to understand the factors contributing to total fees paid by centres; for example changes in numbers of learners and numbers of qualifications per learner.

Isabel Nisbet, Acting Chief Executive at Ofqual, said:

"Ofqual welcomes the contribution made by this report to the development of a better understanding of the issues involved in assessing the fees charged by awarding organisations. One of Ofqual's key objectives through all our work is to increase transparency and this report is a significant move towards greater transparency about fees and costs. In future Ofqual expects to have statutory responsibility to secure value for money and efficiency in the qualifications market. We will keep the level of fees under review and if necessary we will use our powers to cap fees.

"Ofqual now needs to consider what information we should collect from awarding organisations in order to ensure that regulated qualifications are provided efficiently and that fees represent value for money."

Note to editors

1. Grant Thornton's report has been redacted for reasons of commercial confidentiality and is available to download from this page.
2. The QCA A level and GCSE report can be downloaded from http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/1476.aspx
3. A combination of surveys, meetings and case studies were used to assess the market, which includes more than 8,000 qualifications which are provided by more than 130 awarding bodies. Detailed case studies were compiled for 33 case studies from 15 awarding organisations.
4. Qualifications looked at in the report are as follows - Basic skills, Other General Qualifications, English for speakers of other languages, Entry Level, Diploma, Vocationally Related Qualifications, Free Standing Maths Qualification, National Vocational Qualification, Occupational Qualification, Higher Level, Principal Learning, Project, Functional Skills, Advanced Extension Award and Key Skills.
5. Ofqual in its interim form is part of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). On 2 April 2008, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, announced that the government intended to legislate to make Ofqual a separate statutory authority reporting directly to Parliament.
6. For further information journalists should contact the Ofqual press office on 0300 303 3342, or 07798 924552 outside office hours. Members of the public should call the Ofqual helpline on 0300 303 3346.