What are T-levels and what are the grades worth?

Image source, Getty ImagesAs GCSE students prepare to receive their exam results, many will be considering a T-level as their next step.But what are T-levels, what courses are available and how are they marked? What are T-levels, how are they marked, and what are they worth?T-levels are vocational qualifications aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in England, external, which focus more on practical subjects than academic ones.Introduced in 2020, the qualification includes a mixture of classroom learning and on-the-job experience. A work placement of at least 315 hours - or nine weeks - makes up about 20% of the course.T-levels are designed to cater for students who want an alternative to A-levels but do not wish to take an apprenticeship, which typically requires as much as 80% of a student's time to be spent with an employer.Final marks are based on a combination of exams, coursework and completion of the industry placement.Students get one of four grades, ranging from a pass to a distinction*. Their certificate shows their overall grade and lists their experiences on the course.A distinction* is worth 168 Ucas points - the same as three A*s at A-level - and a merit is equivalent to three Bs at A-level.What T-level courses are available?How successful are T-levels and what problems have there been?The number of students taking T-levels has increased each year since they were introduced.However, many T-level students do not complete their course. Retention rates for most A-levels and other equivalent qualifications are consistently above 90%.In comparison, only 71% of the 10,253 students who started a T-level in 2022 finished the two-year programme.The dropout rate of first-year health and science T-level students was even higher at 31%, according to a report from the Education Policy Institute.The overall retention rate rose slightly in 2025, to 72.9% of the 16,081 students completing the course they started in 2023.As well as problems with the range of available subjects, there have also been issues with the quality of teaching.In July 2024, the exams watchdog Ofqual fined the NCFE exam board £300,000 over "major failings" with papers sat by 1,200 health and science T-level students in 2022.How do T-levels compare to other vocational qualifications?When T-levels were introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2020, there were more than 12,000 vocational qualifications, offered by more than 150 awarding bodies.T-levels were designed to streamline this landscape, and make post-16 options less confusing for students and employers.As part of the introduction of T-levels, funding was set to be withdrawn for some other vocational qualifications, like BTecs, which were deemed to "overlap" with the new T-level programmes.Some vocational qualifications that overlapped with T-levels have had funding withdrawn, while others continue to be funded following a government review.The DfE said the qualifications would "be able to coexist" while work was done to make improvements, but that ultimately T-levels would become "the large technical qualification of choice".Other vocational courses available in the UK include:BTecs (available across the UK)NVQs (available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland)Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs).