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Pay: Graduates

Asked by Neil O'BrienConservativeDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 7 September 2026UIN 21397

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Graduate labour market outcomes (LEO) statistics published on 25 June 2026, if she will publish data on graduate and non-graduate earnings broken down by prior attainment at A-Level and BTEC.

Answered by Department for Education

Data on graduate earnings broken down by prior attainment at A-level and BTEC have been published in previous releases of the graduate labour market outcomes (LEO) statistical release series.

These breakdowns have not been included in the latest release of the series (published 25 June 2026), as the latest release shifted to using key stage 4 (GCSE) results as the primary measure of prior attainment by which to group outcomes and earnings. Providing multiple different prior attainment measures risked confusing users. This shift was implemented after discussion with various sector experts and stakeholders, who generally advised that key stage 4 attainment was the more robust measure of prior attainment for comparing graduate and non-graduate outcomes, since it is the final attainment measure in compulsory education and the qualification landscape is less fragmented than at key stage 5.

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