Research and analysis
Qualifications Price Statistics 2023
An analysis of the changes in pricing of regulated qualifications in England between January 2021 and February 2023.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
This report – previously called the Qualifications Price Index (QPI) – aims to support competition in the market by highlighting annual price changes across the sector.
Key findings
- Average qualification price rises were below general consumer price inflation between 2021 and 2022 as well as 2022 and 2023.
- In February 2023, the average price of a General Qualification (GQ) (GCSEs, AS and A levels) was £57.28 and the average price of a Vocational and Technical Qualification (VTQ) was £64.82.
- GQs consist of GCSEs, AS and A levels.
- VTQs consist of all qualifications other than GQs and apprenticeship end-point assessments. Example of VTQs include, but are not limited to, T Level Technical Qualifications, BTECs, Cambridge Nationals and Performing Arts Graded Examinations.
- GQ prices rose by 2.6% between 2021 and 2022 and 6.5% between 2022 and 2023.
- A levels had the highest price rises in both periods – 2.7% between 2021 and 2022 and 6.7% between 2022 and 2023.
- VTQ prices rose by 1.2% between 2021 and 2022 and 4.7% between 2022 and 2023.
- The sector subject area Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care had the highest rise between 2021 and 2022 (4.6%) while Education and Training had the highest rise between 2022 and 2023 (7.5%).
- Level 1/Level 2 VTQs experienced the highest price rises between 2021 and 2022 (2.3%) while entry level VTQs had the highest rises between 2022 and 2023 (6.1%).