Young People
16-19 Learners
Overview
16-19 learner numbers reached a five-year high in 2024/25 when colleges enrolled 59,343 learners. This was an increase of 5.4% on the previous year and carried on the upward trend since 2023/24. Overall, 16-19 learner numbers increased by 11.3% since 2019/20.
Over 68% of 16-19 learners reside in the WMCA area and around 31% live in the outer areas of the West Midlands.
The one-year 16-19 growth was stronger in outer areas (up 6.8%) but over the five-year period the rate of growth of 16-19 learners residing in the WMCA patch was stronger at 12.2%.
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Data Narrative
Level of Learning
The majority of learners aged 16-19 study at level 3 or above.
- In 2024/25 level 3 learners totalled 27,372 which was 47% of all 16-19 learners.This proportion is slightly lower than in 2019/20, having declined slightly each year since the peak in 2021/22.
- Correspondingly there has been a small increase over time in the proportion of learners at level 1 and below.
- A higher proportion of learners aged 16-19 study at level 3 within the WMCA patch compared with outer areas – 48% compared with 44%.
Subject
The subject area with the highest number of enrolments in 2024/25 was Preparation for Life and Work.
The priority areas of Science, IT and Engineering rank 7th, 9th and 10th respectively in the table of 21 subject areas.
Subjects with the strongest growth in 2023/24 were: Art and Design (up 6%), Business, Administration and Law (up 7%), Health, Nursing and Social Care (up 9%), Construction (up 11%).
Overall, 6% of 16-19 learners are on an A Level programme. Proportionally more young people in the WMCA areas study A Levels than in the outer areas where the proportions are 8% and 3% respectively.
T Level participation continues to grow. In 2024/25 there were 2,411 T Level enrolments, a rise of 60% on the previous year.
Inclusion Trends
Ethnicity
Leaners shared data on their ethnicity at enrolment, using the categories in the Individual Learner Record (ILR). In this summary, data relating to the 19 ethnicity categories in the ILR were aggregated into four broad ethnicity groups: Asian, Black, Mixed Heritage and White. Learners in the ‘other’ category and those for whom ethnicity is not known are not included.
There is increasing diversity in the profile of 16-19 learners in all areas of the West Midlands. Over the past five years a consistent trend is evident where the proportion of 16-19 learners who identify in the broad White group is decreasing and proportions in the smaller broad groups is increasing slowly. Learners who identified in one of the Black or Mixed Heritage ethnicity groups grew by 2% over the last five years and the proportion of learners who identified in one of the White ethnicity groups declined by 4%.
The profile of 16-19 learners residing within the WMCA authorities is significantly more diverse than that of young people living in outer areas. In 2024/25 48% of learners residing in the WMCA authority areas identified in a White ethnicity group compared with 52% in 2019/20. By contrast in outer areas 86% of 16-19 learners identified as White, down from 90% in 2019/20.
The next largest broad ethnicity group in the WMCA area in 2024/25 was Asian learners who made up 22% of the cohort, followed by learners in the Black broad group (15%) and Mixed Heritage group (9%).
In outer areas 3% of learners identified as Asian, 3% as Black and 5% identified as Mixed Heritage, the sub-group that has seen the greatest growth.
Sex
Less than half (47%) of 16-19 learners in 2024/25 were female, up from 45% five years ago. 53% were male, down from 55% five years ago.
These proportions and trends are consistent across the WMCA areas and outer areas.
Disability, Learning Difficulty and Health Problems
While 27% of 16-19 learners declared a Learning Difficulty, Disability or Health Problem (LD/D) in 2024/25, the proportions in the sub-areas differ greatly.
The proportion of 16-19 learners in WMCA areas who declared LD/D was 24% compared with 35% in the case of 16-19 learners residing in the outer areas.
Within the WMCA patch, 8% of 16-19 learners had an EHCP and 8% were funded through High Needs funding, and in the outer areas 12% had an EHCP and 9% were funded through High Needs funding.
Deprivation Profile
The overall deprivation profile of college 16-19 learners closely mirrors the deprivation profile of residents of the same age, showing that CWM colleges enrol young learners proportionally across all socio-economic groups in the West Midlands.
There is some variation in the case of 16-19 learners residing in outer areas where colleges enrolled proportionally fewer 16-19 learners in the two most deprived bands and proportionally more in bands 5 to 10.