Participating in this inquiry into the revised Welsh baccalaureate qualification has certainly been eye-opening for me, and some of the findings of the report were very fundamental. A number of examples of poor perceptions of the Welsh bac have been highlighted, for example 66 per cent believing that the Welsh bac is not valuable to future careers; understanding of the qualification by universities decreasing beyond the Welsh border; and there is major variability in the delivery of the qualification at schools and colleges, with some treating it as a filler, and there being a complete lack of consistency in timetabling across Wales.

It will come as no surprise, therefore, that we as a committee did note that a key issue is a lack of understanding of the qualification amongst parents, employers and educational professionals. Four years down the line, the Welsh Government still needs to explain in simpler terms exactly what the qualification is.