Educating 14- to 19-year-olds in England: a UK lens on possible futures

Here we draw on recent research and on earlier contributions on convergence and divergence across Great Britain to consider possible future trajectories for 14–19 education and training in England. We use a UK-wide lens to reflect on 14–19 strategies in England by showing how common issues can be tackled in different ways in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The article identifies what could be seen as three models of upper secondary education – Type 1 (England); Type 2 (Scotland and Wales); and Type 3 (Northern Ireland) – that have been part of the picture of divergence. We conclude that the process of divergence is likely to continue in the short-term but, in the longer term, wider political factors could produce post-devolution convergence.