Every year the UK A-Level results bring with them the inevitable tide of questions about the quality and standard of the exams: Are they getting easier? Is studying for three or four subjects in great detail right in the modern world? Can standards, and pass rates, be sustained? One option already available to schools and students is the baccalaureate system. With reform of the 'gold-standard' A-level likely, and with qualification reform in Wales and Scotland already a reality, this unique book will be essential reading for anyone who needs to know about the post-16 qualifications debate. Covering national and international approaches, the IBO, curriculum reform,and political and educational imperatives the book including expert contributions by the leading figures in the bac debate from the HE, state and independent-schools sectors, as well as from political and research fields.